Dog Days of PostParadise
by Project X
Summary: Time is irrelevant here.The world has had its life sucked out of it. The green plants that used to grow are no more, the animals that used to be so docile are now monsters, people are so sad and distant, and the sky is no longer its old blue color. The sky is grey and ugly, the Earth is a desert, and the world is strange. -Re-writing-
1. Journal Entry 4

**Author's Note: **_The original idea for this is "Stranger in a Strange Land", which is also on my account here. This is a different apocalypse and character though. "Stranger in a Strange Land" was fairly popular when I wrote it; I hope this one will be as liked as that one. This story is completely devoted to all those fans of mine who kept asking for more of my RE stuff. You guys are awesome and I'm sorry you had to wait so long!_

_Enjoy!_

**-X-**

"**Dog Days of Post-Paradise"**

**Prologue: **_Journal Entry 4_

_Journal Entry 4:__ 2014, July 20__th__. _

_Status__: Hiding….sort of._

_Time is irrelevant here._

I stop writing and tap the pen furiously. I can barely see what I'm writing the candles are so dim. I sigh and get up, deciding to get better lighting for the room before I continue. I find a breaker box and a generator, a few minutes later there is electricity in the abandon house and I sit back down at the desk in the corner I had been sitting at, my journal and pen waiting for me.

_There are no clocks, no calendars, and it seems like the days are so much longer than they used to be._

I stop writing again and realize just how sloppy my hand writing is. It feels strange when I write with my left hand, like wearing a shoe on the wrong foot. My brows furrow, I watch fist sized moths gather towards the lights that are on in the house. I fist my left hand in and out, exercising it. Then I put the pen in my right hand and begin to write again.

_Things, people, animals; they've all changed._

I pause and look at the differences between my handwriting with my left hand then with my right. I fist my right hand in and out, discovering I am right handed. I knew this vaguely but not entirely, now I knew for sure, and appreciated the information. It was nice to learn new things about myself. Then I begin to write again.

_The world has had its life sucked out of it. The green plants that used to grow are no more, the animals that used to be so docile are now monsters, people are so sad and distant, and the sky is no longer its old blue color. The sky is grey and ugly, the Earth is a desert, and the world is strange. I know why but the facts are too far for me to reach in my head._

I pause and sigh, holding the pen in my hand. I roll it around on my fingers then look out the window to my side. The sky is dark, the world is lifeless, and I don't even hear crickets singing their usual song. Everything seems so dead, even I feel hollow. I rub my head as a migraine starts to come on; that happens when I try to force myself to remember. So I stop myself from thinking and continue writing.

_I write this for myself, hoping that if I ever lose my memory again I can read this and remember. I found this on my person the day I woke up in the hospital; this journal. There were already three entries in it along with many doodles and drawings. There was also one picture. This picture helped give me a large idea of who I was, vague images and memories coming back, but I still don't remember my name or what happened to the world._

_It is frustrating to have it on the tip of my tongue, the back of my head, but I just can't reach it._

I stop writing again as lightning strikes outside, thunder booming right behind it. Yet, the sound of rain drops never come. Even if it were to rain it would be acid, probably, because of the way the sky is. I can feel the lightning, the change in humidity, the electricity in the air, the smell of strengthened ozone, as if it were nothing. I ignore these distracting sensations and get back to my writing.

_The day I woke up in the hospital there was no one there, the entire town was empty. What could have caused such a large act of disappearances, I don't know. My gut was warning me to leave, there was a tingling sensation in the back of my head telling me to go north, and my heart was telling me to go home._

_I ended up going home. _

_I found myself in a small town in South Dakota called Sunset. I walked all the way there, finding nothing on the way, and not breaking a sweat with even such a lengthy walk. I let my legs guide me as I walked down street after street. Some houses were destroyed, cars tipped over, cars left sitting in the road, and not a body to be seen._

_I found myself at a little rock covered house, along a very nice looking street. I walked down the paved walkway and found the front door unlocked. I went inside and looked around. There were three bedrooms, two of them were girl's rooms, most likely teenaged. There was posters and art everywhere; both rooms were significantly different, the two girls most likely having very different tastes. I found myself in many different pictures in both rooms. Pictures of me and this other girl smiling, she looked very similar to me so I imagined she was my sister, younger than me as well._

_Something inside my heart told me the room behind the door with a dragon poster was mine. Video game, zombie movie, and anime posters lined each wall. The bed's sheets had angel wings all over them and there were drawings of angels above the bed's base board. The drawings match the ones in the journal so I knew they were mine._

_Lastly I went into the last bedroom. It was a man's bedroom, messy, and unkempt. There was cologne on the desk in the corner as well as a box of tools. There was one picture on the side of the desk, held there by glue. It matched the picture in my journal perfectly._

_The picture was of a mid-aged man, wearing a baseball cap, hugging his two daughters at a baseball field. The two girls wore little league uniforms and were smiling brightly. The two girls were younger than the ones in some of the other pictures, but it still matched them. _

_This only meant one thing; I had a little sister and a dad out there, somewhere._

_Vague memories came back into my mind then. That day at little league practice, last winter when Daddy took me and my sister ice skating, that night when me and my younger sister had a heart to heart, and to many other memories I couldn't count._

_Emotions, so many emotions filled me, but only one stayed; determination. I would find my little sister and dad, no matter what!_

_That is my mission; I will find answers and then them. It has been a week since I left home, now I don't know where I am. I am truly lost in this new world._

_I don't remember my name yet, but if there is anything I have to remember it's them._

_REMEMBER THEM!_

I found myself slamming down the pen as I finished, more raw emotions filling me. The pen shattered and a hole was left in the desk. I jumped back, the chair falling out from under me. My body slammed down onto the floor and I felt a huge bruise get left there. I sucked in a deep pained breath before quickly slinging myself back up to run to the bathroom. The bathroom was just around the corner and held a foot long mirror in it. I ran up to it and pulled up the shirt I was wearing to peer at my side. The bruising was a dark blue and felt incredibly painful. I clamped my eyes shut in pain for a second and when I opened them the bruise was gone! Vanished!

I felt of my side as I held my shirt up, it was completely healed. I gaped at myself, than noticed something. I started freaking out at what the mirror was showing me. I got closer and closer to the reflective surface; my eyes wide, my breath caught in my throat.

There, in the mirror, were my eyes….they were _yellow_.

**-X-**

**End Note: **_I sincerely do not know how I feel about this beginning. -_- I wrote it at three am and I don't know if I should keep it or not. I wanted to give out some detail about the character without giving away too much, make it vague and mysterious while she still doesn't have any memories. Then next chapter I'll jump ahead a couple of months and have her personality *boom* there! Also I want next chapter to be action filled but still mysterious. I thought the journal idea would be good, different. But I don't know._

_Please; someone tell me if I should re-write this?_

_R&R please!_


	2. Liars of the Wasteland

**Author's Notes: **_You might want to know I skipped ahead a bit, really because this is when the story really begins. But I will have flash back chapters too! That way you get to see everything the main character ever mentions. There is still some suspense and mystery to this chapter, there is still a lot you don't get to know. Some stuff is revealed, but not big stuff. There is finally some Resident Evil to this Resident Evil FF. FINALLY! Right? I hate the prologue, but I think this chapter makes it all better!_

_Also I'd like to make a special thank you to all who reviewed!_

_BMD-X_

_netherlady_

_Fox Mew Brittany_

_Yue. 40_

**Edited version: **Fox Mew Brittany was my beta.

**-X-**

**Dog Days of Post-Paradise**

**Chapter 1: **_Journal Entry 16; __"Liars of the Wasteland"_

_Journal Entry 16: __July 4__th__, 2015._

_Status:__ Traveling through the wasteland…._

_The desert the world had become was a cruel place. It was desolate, dry, and dead. The world seemed to be endless while walking through the desert, endlessly devoid of life._

Dirt and sweat got in my eyes as I tried to write. The wind picked up as small grey clouds covered the sun. The sky moving forward as I stood still, tan sand whipping back and forth under my feet. It was hot, the air was damp, and my canteen was empty. But that wasn't even the worst of it.

"What 'ya writ'n?" Bright blue eyes peered over my shoulder. I hid the sacred thing in my hands away from the trespasser. He smiled back at me, a grin full of teeth and sheltered hope. I looked back at the boy, some years younger than me yet just as tall.

"Go home David." I commanded dryly as the boy still followed me, my boots nearly sinking in the sand. David held his head high, looking at the sun, an arm's shadow covering his eyes. He still smiled, even while out in a place like this.

"Nah," He shook his head dismissively. "I heard what you said to my dad, I want-a help you find the place." David countered, his bright blue eyes searching for my hidden ones. I turned to the boy, the cloak I wore to hide my skin from the sun twirling with me. I smirked at him, not being able to help the one side of my face lifting up.

"Fine." I nodded and his face brightened, he even straitened his hat. "But we'll walk together to the entrance, then you'll go straight home, ka-pesh?" I looked the boy in the eye, my yellow pupils hidden under my sunglasses. He nodded and I nodded, then we started to walk again.

I pulled out my journal again as we walked, clicking my pen so that I could write.

_I write in this journal so that I might remember. I write this so I will not forget, so that I never stop searching. So that I never stop looking for my family._

_I remembered their names yesterday; a family I had met jogged my memory._

_Every day for some time I've remembered bits and pieces about them, and today I'll finally write all of it down, since I have been away from my journal for quite some time due to complications._

_My sister's name is Lily; she's three years younger than me. She has dyed blonde hair; her true hair color is black, like dads. She was smart, really smart, A's in all of her classes. She wore glasses because there was something wrong with her eye sight. She was outgoing and loved sports. She loved dogs and cats but had allergies to both of them. She loved people too; she helped out at shelters and hospitals. She wanted to be a doctor someday. She was about to graduate when….doomsday came._

_My dad's name is Dean. He's pretty tall, slightly muscular, handsome looking guy with black locks and neatly kept facial hair. He has blue eyes too, just like my sister. He was a mechanic, actually had his own garage. He was the nicest guy you'd ever meet; he was always willing to help out. But he was devoted to his daughters. He liked to wear ball caps and sunglasses all the time; I took after him doing that, me wanting to copy my idol when I was younger. _

_Our mom had died in a car crash, getting hit by a drunk, or so I had been told. Come to find out, when I was sixteen, our mom came out of nowhere and tried to claim custody over me through the court. What had actually happened was our mom had left our dad for a richer man; Dad had lied to us hoping we would never be poisoned by our mother's true nature, and then she found out that the rich guy couldn't have kids. When the occasion suited her she decided she wanted her first born back because she wanted kids, but an older one so she didn't have to go through the trouble of raising it._

_I remember that court house, how quiet it was when they explained things to me; then, as soon as things sunk in, how loud it became. I started shouting profanities back and forth at that woman, telling her if she ever tried to come near me or Lily again I'd cut her slut head off._

_That seemed to solve the problem of custody rights. The judge was sure that I should stay with my dad._

_Good going Sherlock._

I stopped writing and looked over my shoulder to find David whistling. The whistling became humming as time passed on, then the humming became light singing. The song he sang was sad but realistic, it spoke of a rotten apple that's center corrupted innocence, and it suited the desert scenery. His bright blue eyes looked around at the open miles of sand and turf, on and on went the sand dunes as wind blew past us. He seemed to look so excitable; he seemed to be so amazed by everything. He was truly a sheltered child. He'd never seen how nightmarish this place could be, even though this past year, that's all I had been seeing.

I stopped suddenly, in the middle of nothing, and turned to the boy. He stopped behind me, his brown tufts of hair neatly under his hat, his blue eyes peering into me. No words were shared between the two of us as I looked at him. He didn't even flinch or sweat under my gaze. He was the first person in so long that hadn't been afraid of me. It was a breath of fresh air, to feel human again through someone else's gaze.

"Why are you really following me David? You know what I am, that I'm dangerous, so why?" I asked, curious why someone so innocent wouldn't stop following me. The boy had clung to my shadow every day since we met. He never stopped asking questions, never having met a Wanderer before. He wanted to know everything about the outside world, having been caged up all his live.

The boy kicked some dirt in front of him, his long coat rustling under the movement. "I don't know." He shrugged, looking everywhere but at me. His face had gone emotionless; it seemed we were playing poker now. I narrowed my eyes at the boy, leaning on him a bit.

"Come on Davy! Do I look stupid to you or something?" My arm was on his shoulder, my mouth contorted into an angry smile as I leaned closer, our faces almost touching. The boy looked down at the ground, his hands behind his back, and there it was; _a blush_. The boy was blushing, smitten with a monster. The dumbass kid. He didn't even know how old I was, he assumed I was eighteen 'cause I looked that old. Really; I had stopped aging some time ago, I was at least five years older than I looked. It was another side effect of this _thing_ inside of me.

David jumped back away from me and glared. I smiled at his cute angry face. "That's not it!" He yelled, clearly frustrated. "It's just," There he went kicking the sand again, looking down at the ground, his eyes distant. "Hope is so boring, 'ya know?" He looked at me closely, most likely seeing all the scars marring my body and face, the ones I never allowed my body to heal. "Well, you wouldn't know but…-" He pauses, not knowing the words to use but finding them quickly. "I just want something exciting to happen!" He finally yells his hands in the air.

My smile drops; I feel an abyss inside my chest open up and suck in all of the warmth I had been feeling. I remember how I had made that same statement years ago….then- _Well_, even I'd rather not think of that. All I know is that the vague pictures and blurry memories that assaulted me made me feel anger, grieve, and sadness. I suddenly grabbed the front of David's shirt and glared darkly at him; even though he couldn't see my eyes he could still feel my anger. "Do you know what boring is, _David_?" My voice was low, covered in a sheen sweat of warning. My tongue felt like that of a snake, venom on the tip of it.

David was sweating now, profusely. He shook his head innocently and had his hands up in surrender as I held his shirt. His eyes were wide and his heart was beating rapidly, he smelled of pheromones and of other things human's secrete. The chemical humans produced to experience fear had a strange smell to it, if you asked me anyway.

"Safety, _David_. Boring is safe! Every fucking human on the face of this planet prays for boring! Do you know what happens to those humans, David?" There the venom was, dripping and lacing itself into David's head. He was far too sheltered; I bet no one had even yelled at him before, that's why he was so afraid of me now. The boy shook his head rapidly, his bright blue eyes reminding me of a little scared mouse. "They fucking die! They end up ripped to shreds by Elite, eaten by Enders, turned by Zombies, slaughtered by Greeds, and wasted by Chosen! Thousands of humans die every day, and you fucking want an adventure? This is HELL, DAVID! The apocalypse has come and gone and by some fucking miracle we're all still here! I suggest you choose the side where the grass is greener, even if it is fucking boring." I release the boy and angrily turn to start walking again, my cloak rustling loudly, but now I'm jogging instead of walking. I want to get away from him, from the reminder of a memory that keeps ripping my heart out over and over again. A memory that I feel but don't remember.

"Then what does that make you!" These words pass through me like a typhoon, soaring through the air to harshly hit my ears and burn as they sink in. I stop suddenly, my feet glued to the sand as my heart starts beating faster. Thoughts that I have been having throughout this past year return to my recollection. My eyes widen and I feel as if someone has just shot me in the chest, this feeling being the only time I ever feel my own heartbeat. For a while I thought I didn't have a heart anymore it was so silent.

I want to answer David, but I can't, because I don't know. "They say all of the Elite can't stand humans!" David is still yelling at me, sending shots at me in the form of words. "They say all Elite just obey the guy they call their _God_ and that Chosen don't even leave their home base." David has calmed some now, but he has to still lift his voice so that I can hear him over the roaring winds and whipping sands. "So what does that make you? Why are there so many rumors about you, _Yellow Eyed Angel?_"

I feel it then, a knife twisting in my gut. It's not real but the pain is still there. I clutch my chest but stay straight, not giving David the satisfaction of my weakness. I wondered why, why they had to give me that nickname. How did they know? How did they know about my past concerning angels? _Why had there been feathers there of all places?_ I wanted to give David an answer but; _'I just don't know' _was all I had.I started walking again, pretending to ignore David's statements.

I stopped for one second to turn to David, and I did something I never thought I'd do. I took off my sunglasses and stared David down with my yellow snake like eyes. The eyes that people saw and labeled me a monster. Yet, the eyes some had seen yet called me an angel, I was a walking contradiction. The very same eyes that when anyone ever saw them their own eyes would widen with fear, no matter what, even if their opinions changed of me after my sunglasses were back on. They were the eyes of a snake, a monster, truly terrifying. David's own eyes did the same, widening in fear, and he fell back onto the sand, crawling away from me, truly terrified.

"_Go home David, go home."_ And that was the last time I ever saw David Lockheart. I watched his back as his body disappeared off into the distance, the sun coming down behind him as he left behind a dusty trail. I was alone again.

**-X-**

"_Lily!"_

"_Dad!"_

"_Hey, look!"_

_A finger from my hand pointed up at the sky above me. Stars glittered like flashes of light, blinking, tossing and turning. The sky was like a perfect painting, painted by the perfect artist. Like a giant dark ocean full of white twinkling flowers in it. Then, all of a sudden the sky lite up with bursts of light, color, and energy. Fireworks danced in the sky like performers, the act reminding me of circus acrobatics. The colors like art as well; bursting forth from circles of fire to multicolored rainbows of light._

"_Looks awesome don't it?" I heard my dad say from beside me, his hand rubbing my hair. I can feel him beside me, sense his essence, and I take it all in. I feel warm even while lying on the cool and damp green grass below me. I smile, the feeling of love and safety filling me. I close my eyes, taking an extra-long breath full of happiness and contentment. I leave my eyes closed for a few minutes longer, just letting the feeling envelop me._

_Then I open my eyes and the sky above me is grey and dull, and the grass below me is dead and turned to hot sand. I shoot up, looking around, bewildered and panicked. I stand to my feet and look around in circles, quickly, checking all of my sides. I feel my heart wretch, screaming out in agony._

_I was all alone again, just like I had been for the past year and who knows how long before that._

_But then I turn again one last time and there is my father, looking at me with sad eyes. His head is down, the top of his ball cap shading his face. The look on his face was so sorrowful, so hollow, and so disappointed looking. I felt a stabbing pain throughout my chest, and I tried to collect myself. I would not cry, not in front of him. "Dad!" I yelled and started to run toward him. But no matter how fast I ran I could never get any closer to him, I even tried to reach out and grab him, but he stepped back, that same look on his face. "DAD!" I cried even louder, he finally looked up at me when I did._

_His dark blue eyes swirled like storm clouds, the look on his face so dark. He grabbed the tip of his cap, the wind picking up around us. My cloak rustled as the wind whipped by us, carrying the sand with it. My father looked at me with those stormy eyes and spoke. His voice as deep and dark, as stormy and as cold, as his eyes. __**"Monster."**__ Then he turned and began to walk away from me carelessly._

_I dropped down to my knees, the feeling as if someone had shot me or dropped a large rock on top of me and squashed me alive. My heart shattered into a million pieces, like glass that bleeds. I couldn't hold myself up anymore over the emotional pain. That's when a dark abyss opened up right below me and I began to fall into the never ending void of darkness._

**-X-**

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as my body rocketed up. I was shaking and trembling fiercely, my entire being covered in a cold sweat as I gulped in breath after breath of terrified lungful's of air. My entire body felt sore, exhausted, and worn out from the day's travels, but that pain was nothing compared to how my heart felt at that moment.

I scrambled quickly to where I had sat my backpack and tore it open, several different things falling out of it as I did, making noise throughout the cavern, the sound echoing through the pitch black darkness. My hands found what I had been looking for and I gripped it tightly, as if it were my last salvation, and hugged it to my chest. I opened the sacred thing, the only proof that existed that proved my use-to-be humanity, the only thing that truly was mine, and the only thing that held proof that I wasn't so completely alone; my journal. Its scratch-y black and white cover was like home to my fingertips.

I opened it up and found the picture inside. When my eyes saw the picture and the memory swept through me, that's when I broke. Tears streamed quickly down my face, dripping onto the cold stone ground. I began to shake again and sob uncontrollably, crying like an emotional teenaged girl. My sobbing was loud and my breathing was deep, but I never once took my yellow eyes off of that picture. I gripped it tightly, tears falling onto it, dampening the faces on it.

"P-p…puh-lease," It was so hard to speak through my breaths and my sobs, my body writhing and trembling so hard I could barely stay still. "D-d-d-don…-n't." My tongue felt like solid steel, and I couldn't control any of the rest of me, having lost it so completely. I was finally breaking down again after so long. I was just glad I waited to do it somewhere where no one could see me. I am ashamed of such a weakness. I was just so lonely without them; I missed them so much, even though I felt like I had never once been with them, like it was all just a dream, and that was the worst part.

"C-c-ca-ca-call…..m-m-ee…..a-a…" The tears started to come faster, the sobs getting louder, the crack inside of me only getting deeper. A puddle was starting to form in front of me on the ground from my tears. My body shook and shook and I felt like I could barely breathe, the dark abyss from my nightmare sucking me up. "A-a….m-mon-monster!" I started to beg them, plead, with nothing but the memory of a man in my head. "PLEASE!" I cried out, it boomed in the echo around me. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I was yelling now, frustration filling me anew. The crack stayed still now, but it had grown so much bigger, the crack in my heart. The place in my heart where memories of my family should be, where the warmth of their company should be, and where they should be. Now it was just a big hole, a gap, full of loneliness and forgotten treasured memories.

"Please don't call me a monster Dad; you're all I have left. You and Lily, you're all that keeps me going." I had finally started to calm down now, but I felt like I had indeed been eaten, from the inside out. I was just so empty. The sobs slowed to a stop, my breathing evened out, and my heart stopped throbbing so intensely. The tears dried up and my eyes just gazed at the picture in my hands. The extreme sadness was gone, replaced by sorrow and my usual empty pitted loneliness. I took one last deep gulp of air before wiping off my face with the back of my black sleeve.

This was not the first time this had happened; it was just the shortest of my many break downs. They happened every time I remembered and got back large portions of my memories. Yet the more I remembered the more hollow feeling I became. So many horrible emotions overcame me, along with them horrible thoughts of never finding the ones I loved ever again. The thought that I would be alone forever scared me so much; sometimes I couldn't sleep at night. Nightmares and night terrors plagued me far too much.

But, sometime ago I had taken shelter in this cavern, with its long and narrow entrance and it's never ending dark passage ways, it was a good hiding spot. The winds and storms became too much for me to handle and I needed some where to rest for the night. Even I needed rest after walking through such harsh terrain. I didn't need a fire or light to see, a nice little side effect of having yellow snake like eyes was that you could see perfectly in the dark. I checked to make sure nothing else was in this cave before taking off my backpack, sunglasses, sheath, holster, and cloak. I laid them all down beside me before lying down myself and falling asleep. Now I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep through the rest of the night, I'd just keep having nightmares, or worse, memories.

So I decided to finish filling out _Journal Entry 6_ while I waited for the sun to come up. I put the picture back in its usual place in my journal and took out the pen I had a special pouch for on my thigh. It was a good pen, one that had lasted me a long time. It was a pen, silver in color and creation, which had my father's name written on the side of it in italics, another thing I had found back at home and brought with me. I held the pen tightly in my right hand as I began to write.

_I mentioned a family earlier, the one that had made me remember my father and sister's names. That family was the Lockheart's._

_It was two weeks ago that I had finally exceeded my own limit. It had been a month since I had had food, a week since I slept, and days since I had had a drop of water in my mouth. _

_I had been searching for answers about Doomsday. Ever since I started my search I had been looking for answers, the truth. Everywhere I went they all said the same thing._

"_The Truth Lies in Hope."_

_I thought it was some cryptic bullshit and I could never get any more from anyone else._

_But then I had spent my limit and found myself passed out and dying right in front of the first human colony I had ever seen. All I'd ever been to was small groupings of humans in run down old towns, never enough to call a colony or city. In this colony there were hundreds of people gathered in one old city, it being surrounded by metal walls and barriers that no one could get through, not even an Elite. This colony had electricity, hot and cold running water, technology, and grass! They had real green grass!_

_This colony was called Hope; The City of Hope._

_After I learned that everything fell into place._

_I woke the next day to find myself in the bed of one John Lockheart, his home in the center of Hope. I felt calm there, until I found I had no sunglasses. John walked into the room as I was looking for them, all my gear hidden away somewhere. I looked up at the man, fear stricken. He had smiled and handed me a plate with pieces of toast on it._

_He treated me like a skittish animal at first, slowly approaching me as he assured me he wasn't going to hurt me, and that he knew what I was. I was extremely surprised to hear he knew what I was and who I was and yet was unafraid of me._

_Come to find out this man was a scientist, an ex-Umbrella scientist. At first the name did not strike a bell, and then he told me everything._

_How Umbrella was responsible for what was running through my veins, changing my DNA. He explained that it was a form of virus, a sort of evolved virus. This virus was actually alive and capable of changing one person's whole genetic structure. Forced evolution, in a way._

_I spent a week with this man and his son; David. I hid myself away from the other citizens of Hope, John knowing everything that I needed to know._

_He told me that Doomsday was caused by someone leaking these viruses out into the world on purpose. Yes, he said viruses, as in plural. There were six, maybe ten, different kinds, each one more potent and deadly than the next. Yet, someone took all of these viruses, changed them to his whims like nothing, and released them into the world, letting them spread through the Earth like wildfire, destroying everything within their path._

_The last humans on Earth that hadn't been changed by the viruses were the five percent that was immune to all of them. That meant only five percent of humanity was left after what this madman had done. So many died, and for what? So he could get his way?_

_I was so angry when he told me this and I begged him to tell me the name of the man responsible. I'd find him and make him pay; avenge the seven billion people that he carelessly slaughtered._

_John said he didn't know, but that he knew a place where I could get the information I seeked. He seemed more than eager to tell me. He seemed guilty; angry that he had helped create what destroyed the world, what changed me. So out of that guilt he helped me and I took that help gladly._

_He told me of an old underground Umbrella lab, one that hadn't been found by the BSAA or that wasn't raided or offline. All I needed was an ID badge and a code to get in. He said that no one had messed with that lab for years, but they had been made to last, so I should be able to find what I wanted to know there._

_My last day in Hope John gave me his old ID badge and codes, than he gave me specific directions of how to find the lab. I mapped it out in my mind perfectly and set off._

_Now to get to the lab and get even more answers. After this I'll search for my father and sister, I'll find them and tell them of everything I've done in the past year, and tell them of what really happened on that day in 2012; Doomsday._

**-X-**

The sun was out again. It rose as if Doomsday never happened, its ripples of the colors of sunset in the dull grey sky_. _The winds had slowed down to nothing, the sand still on the dunes. I watched the scenery of early morning through the entrance of the cave. I felt a warm breeze wash into the cold darkness, drips the only other sound than of the wind itself. Through the cave the wind lazily danced and sang eerie songs that to any other's ears but mine would be frightening.

I began to hum then, adding to the music of the last of nature. My humming echoed and rippled like the puddles of water below me. I hummed an old lullaby my dad used to sing to me and my sister Lily when we were very young. I dared not sing the words, that I would remember my father's voice singing it and get upset. So I hummed until the wind stopped coming into the cave and I could finally see all of the sun again from where I sat.

I sat up a little more from where I was leaning against the cave walls. I stood up slowly and dusted myself off. The worn out old blue jeans I was wearing would have to be replaced soon, they had so many holes in them. My long sleeved black button up shirt still seemed to be in fine condition though. I walked over to my backpack slowly, my black military boots making light noise against the stone ground.

I went through my backpack then, the large backpack also military, Marine Forces. I had found both the backpack and boots in my father's closet that day I went back home a year ago. It felt like an eternity ago now, not just a year. So much had happened in such a small span of time, so much so I sighed sadly at the thought of it. There were two other things I had taken from my father's closet that day though.

One was his old service pistol; an original USP Military SOCOM. The gun had been hidden in a shoe box at the top of his closet. The clip inside of it was already full, and then there were two other full clips inside the box along with that one and a box full of ammo. I took all of it, along with the strange knife I had found inside that same shoe box. The knife was long and sharp, a combat ready knife used for CQC; Close Quarters Combat. What was weird about it though was instead of saying US Marines on it like the gun did; it said S.T.A.R.S. on the side of it.

I shrugged off the odd feeling I got when I saw that knife and took them both, since then they have both been overly used, as I have struggled to survive this endless wasteland. One would think I'd be as fast and as combat efficient as Elite, but I was far from their skill. I was still struggling to come to terms with the fact I was no longer human, which was probably why.

Now I was going through my backpack, I picked out some food I had stored inside of it. It was a few fruit bars I had taken from the last convenient store I had passed. Everything in it was free game, but most of it wasn't good anymore. The fruit bars were though, as I sniffed at them and didn't smell any rotting or mold. The Berry Mix one was my favorite, my enhanced tongue picking up every different taste. I loved how much better I felt after eating something. I now know infected, which is what I am, can go very long times without food, the virus keeping us going. But that doesn't mean I don't feel better with a full stomach.

After I ate I grabbed the toothbrush from my bag and used the last of the water I had in my water bottle, all of the drinking water gone from my canteen already, to cover the toothbrush. I brushed my teeth and spat, feeling even more refreshed now. I put my toothbrush back up and filled the empty plastic bottle with water from the cave. I sniffed the water before I touched it, the water smelled fine and it looked completely clear. I filled the bottle up and got a little dirt inside, but hey, beggars can't be choosers, dirty water was still water.

I put the water bottle back into my bag, and then I got curious. I crawled back over to the large and deep puddle I had used to fill my water bottle with and looked at my reflection. As I thought, my face was covered in dirt, and my brown-ish black-ish hair with blonde highlights was a complete mess. So, I took a handful of water and washed my face off with it, my paler features showing again. Then I ran my hands through my short straight locks, combing it the best I could. Handfuls of hair came out and I sighed, it being a while since I had had a good shower. Now I wished I had taken up John's offer to clean myself while I had hot and cold running water available. I sighed again, shaking my head. I was a real stubborn idiot sometimes.

After I combed through my hair with my fingers the best I could I wetted down my hair and let it be. It wasn't long enough to put up, and I'd cover it with the hood of my cloak anyway. I walked back over to my things after I was done with that. First I strapped my holster back to my left leg; next I strapped the knife sheath back onto my right leg; right under my knee. Then I slung my cloak over my shoulders and put my arms through its sleeves and pulled the hood on over my head. I then put on my backpack and lastly put back on my sunglasses.

I stretched my arms, rolled my shoulders, and stretched out my legs in the coolness of the cave before stepping out into the brilliant sunshine of mid-morning. The sun was up and shining down onto the desert that spanned out in front of me. Here and there you could make out things that pointed out this to be a normal town before Doomsday, but most of it was covered in sand, the rest of it destroyed. How such fertile land could be so completely transformed was beyond me, but it had been, and the man responsible for such a thing was going to pay. But first I had to find out who he was; I had to get to that lab.

**-X-**

"GOD! It's HOT!" I looked up at the grey sky, the sun was now completely overhead and the desert was at its hottest. I could barely stand the heat, I was sweating so much. "You hear me God!" I yelled at the sky, my brain felt like it was frying. "IT'S HOT! COULD YOU PLEASE MAKE IT A LITTLE COOLER?" I yelled at the top of my lungs at the sky again. I actually waited for a reply my brain was so roasted, when I didn't get one I started throwing a temper tantrum and yelling things at God that didn't really make any sense and kicking around sand like a five year old. "WELL SEE IF I EVER HELP YOU LIKE ELI DID!" I yelled one last thing before trudging on, getting step after step closer to my destination.

I could feel I was very close now. I could smell it! No, literally, it smelled like chemicals, flesh, Elite, viruses, and so many very bad things. The smell was strong and unbelievably horrid. It smelled like darkness, like evil things and all of the stuff evil things secreted. I had to cover my nose as I walked, then all of a sudden, as I walked, I heard a metallic noise. I felt something harder than sand under my feet, and with my nose still covered, I looked down. There, under me, was a strange door with a card reader and a handle. My eye twitched; how the Hell did I not notice that earlier? I felt like an incompetent idiot.

Then it hit me that I had finally found the lab and that I could finally get out of the heat. I jumped ten feet in the air out of joy, a slightly high smile plastered on my face. When I finally landed back on the ground I grabbed the door handle and reached for the card in my pocket. But as I felt its plastic sleeve in my fingers, my heart throbbed, my mouth went dry, and there was that tingling in the back of my head again. The tingling was like an itch, almost a nudging, and it made me turn my head north. There was that urge again, to head north and never look back, to forget about my quest and just start running in that direction. It felt like something was trying to pull me, like a Siren's song trying to lure me in

I felt all of the hairs on my body stand on end, my muscles pulled tight as I resisted the hypnotic urge. I grinded my teeth as I waited for the feeling to pass, and held onto the handle in my hand tightly so that I could not move. Sometimes I had to think of Dad and Lily just so I could get out of the trance. I didn't understand what it was and I didn't want to know. This was the fifth time this had happened in the past year, each time the urge gets stronger and stronger, but so do I. When the feeling finally passes I shake my whole body and loosen my muscles back up.

I take the ID badge out of my pocket and slide it into the slot on the round white metal door in the ground. It makes a Star Trek _'whooshing'_ noise and then hisses as steam shoots out of the sides, the extreme change of temperature from the lab into the desert, and the change of pressure, causing steam to come out of the hatch. The door is heavy but easy enough for me to pull fully open. There is a ladder there, attached to the wall of the very long narrow round shaft that leads down. It is completely dark and I can't tell how far down it goes, so I spit into the hole and listen to how far down it goes. I count six seconds and decide that that's not too far down.

I jump in, ignoring the ladder completely. Cold air streams past me as I fall into the very black abyss I should have avoided. It's at least a nine foot drop down, seconds later and I'm on my feet, not suffering any damage from the long fall. This, once again, would be where a normal person turns on a flashlight, but I can see perfectly even in pitch black.

I walk around; the room is full of chemicals, papers, desks, and all manner of things you'd see in a lab. I walk through the smaller lab parts, the hallways separated by glass walls. I smell rotted flesh, other infected, and….flowers? I sniff the air again, and I still smell the same things. Dead flesh, viruses, and pollen. I wonder if there is something wrong with my nose, then another smell hits me. It smells like, and I know this sounds strange but, it smells like a computer. I follow that smell down the dark abandon corridors and into a very large white room. Inside the room it is just full of a huge computer the size of an elephant. There is something beside the computer, floating in a tube full of water. It looks like a giant red eyeball.

I sniff at the strange thing, walking up to it cautiously. It smells strange and I can't quite place it. Then, suddenly the eyeball lights up red and all of the lights in the room turn on. They nearly blind me. I have to pull my hood down a bit until my eyes adjust. The eyeball in the glass stares at me, watching me, the thing gives me the chills.

"_This is a restricted area! Identify yourself!" _It's a woman's voice when the eyeball speaks. I am taken aback at how welcoming the voice sounds yet how serious its tone is. The eyeball blinks at me as it waits. I quickly pull out the ID badge and it laser scans the bar code and picture on the badge. When it looks back at me, it narrows its eye. I have my hood and sunglasses on, so it can barely see me. _"Identity confirmed; Doctor Lockheart. What is your password?" _It asks as it so easily gives in, I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding in.

"David-161-Elnore." I answer, putting the ID badge back in my pocket. That's when the light above the eyeball turns green and the computer turns on. I walk over to it and look up at its huge screen, wondering what I should search first.

"_Welcome back, Doctor Lockheart. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know today?" _The female voice is sickly sweet now, the serious tone long gone. The eyeball watches my every move and realizes, since I was staring up at the computer, that I had no idea where to start.

"Um…yes." I nodded and popped my knuckles. I thought of how exactly I should word my questions. I needed to know the best way to phrase them to get the optimal answer. I felt reminded of the story about the Sphinx that told riddles, if you didn't get the answer exactly right, you didn't get to pass.

My brows scrunched together as I tapped my head and gathered my thoughts. First things first. "Computer?" I asked, looking at the eyeball and feeling like Captain Kirk.

"_Yes?"_ The computer replied back. For some reason I felt reminded of a video game I used to play. Something about a test subject and an evil computer? Another memory I didn't remember so clearly.

"Can you tell me what all viruses pollute the Earth right now and everything about those viruses?" I asked and watched the eyeball blink at me. While I waited, the computer saying it was scanning the necessary data, I pulled up a wheeled chair from one of the desks in the office next door. By the time I got back the computer was done computing.

"_Viruses released into Earth's oxygen; T, T-Veronica, C, G, A/W, and Uroboros."_ From there the computer told me everything it knew about these viruses. The one that caught my eye the most was the A/W virus. The computer had very little to say on it, but that it was created by one man and one man only. When I asked the computer who could possibly be responsible for these viruses being released it calculated one name, stating it was the only man with the ability to even have the A/W virus as it was made from his own blood.

The name it calculated sent shivers down my spine for some reason, as if I'd heard that name before.

"_Albert Wesker"_

I wrote the name down quickly in my journal. However, at this point, I was confused. The computer had stated that Albert Wesker had already tried to release a virus of his creating back around 2009. It also said Albert Wesker had been killed that same day by BSAA Agent Chris Redfield. So, how could a dead man release multiple viruses several years later, on 2012? I asked the computer that and it gave me a creepy answer.

"_Simple, it means he is not dead."_ My face contorted into a mix of confusion and pure freak out when the eyeball stated that in an insane tone as it spun upside down as it did. That was pretty freaking messed up. Even Umbrella's machines were insane. I tried to ignore that as my eyebrows stayed far up on my forehead.

"O-kay." I stated slowly, afraid the eyeball would all of a sudden lose it and jump out of the glass tube to stab me, like some messed up computer Chucky doll thing. I pushed a little farther away from it while still sitting on my office chair. "Tell me everything you know about Albert Wesker, including his present whereabouts." I demanded, clicking my pen as I readied myself to write all of this down in my journal.

The eyeball just blinked at me, as if I had asked it something retarded. _"I cannot do that."_ It stated sincerely in a suddenly innocent voice.

I gave it a confused look once more. "Why?"

"_Because, one cannot know of God."_

All the breath in my lungs left me then, my eyes widened, my blood pumped faster. I stood quickly, knocking over the chair, and felt my hands fist. I slid my pen back in it's pouch quickly before I can break it and stared down the huge eyeball, glaring at it with my snake like eyes. "BULLSHIT! THAT MAN IS NOTHING BUT SHIT! HE KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE! HE'S WORSE THAN FUCKING HITLER!" I took deep breaths, uneven as anger boiled within my mutated blood. "HE'S NO GOD! HE'S JUST A BASTARD WITH AN EGO!" I found it surprising that I had become so angry at the discovery the man that released the viruses in the first place was the one the Elite called God. I suppose I should have seen that coming, but still, I had the right to remain pissed!

"_Why don't you go home? He's waiting for you, you know. You are one of his children." _The eyeball's voice just sounded so insane now that I was sure it was going to sprout a mouth and smile a sadistic smile. But what it said, it stopped me in my tracks, one extreme to another, from boiling hot to freezing cold. Its words terrified me, and I shook my head and felt on the verge of tears. "No." I whispered, my hands to my ears as I shook my head furiously. "No." I said a little louder this time, backing up slowly.

"_Go home, God is waiting for you. Go home. Go home." _The eyeball started to chant now, singing in such a voice that would scare even a monster to the core. It just kept chanting over and over again. Then, suddenly, it stopped, and I looked up from where I had set in a fetal position, my ears no longer covered. All of sudden things were silent, and then the eyeball was looking straight at me again. _"Their coming, their coming to take you away. You better run, or you'll never see the light of day." _It sang sweetly again, abruptly turning itself off along with the rest of the lights in the room and the computer as it finished. Almost as if it was hiding.

I quickly stood up, that tingling sensation in the back of my head again as I spun around to search the room. My muscles stretched, all of my hairs were on end, and my gut was on fire. All of my enhanced senses were going crazy, something very much out of place. I sniffed the air then and it reeked, but not of Elite or Freaks like I thought it would. It reeked of humans. It reeked of gun powder and metal, of plastic and rubber, and of disinfectant and tranquilizers.

Quickly I put my journal back into my backpack and put it back on. I double checked I had everything before heading toward the exit as fast as I could run. But before I could get toward the ladder I smelled that stench again and knew they had the exit blocked._ 'Damnit!' _They had been expecting me; this had been a trap all along. But then…what had been up with the religious psycho computer? If this trap had been set by humans, why try and get me to go to Wesker? Or maybe, they didn't have anything to do with that. GOD! What the Hell was going on around here? None of this was making sense! It felt like I was Alice and I was getting dragged deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole full of darkness and insanity.

My ears pricked suddenly, my feet moving before my brain even had time to register it. I jumped away, I saw a tranquilizer dart in the wall where my head used to be, as I turn mid-jump and landed back on my feet. I sneered, a growl coming from my lips as I felt my baser instincts kicking in, the animal side of me taking over again. Survival was imperative, getting out of here was a must. Now that I knew who to kill to avenge humanity, I had no time to spend with the likes of these people.

I saw the man that tried to shoot me a couple of feet away, now trying to head behind one of the desks inside the lab. He wore a gas mask, a biohazard suit, and night-vision goggles. My eyelid twitched in annoyance again. What? They thought I was contagious or something? How rude! I gripped the handle of the knife sheathed to my left leg and jumped over to the man, just as he was coming back up to take another shot. Before he can blink I'm in front of him, still in mid-air, slicing his throat open. The blood spurts up like a fountain, flying from his neck in slow motion as he falls to the floor, lifeless, but still kicking. I land on my feet beside the dead body and sneer at it, before walking out into the hall.

Bad idea.

Hundreds of flood lights are shined on me as I step out of the room. Even wearing sunglasses isn't enough to shield my eyes from such bright light. If there was one down side, I had learned, from having snake eyes, it was the extreme sensitivity to bright lights. I go to shield my eyes from the light with my arm, but as I do I feel at least five tranquilizer darts penetrate the skin of said arm. Instantly I bring my arm back down and look at it. When I do I feel light headed, dizzy, and I start seeing double all of a sudden, the room spinning. I swagger to my left and try and stay on my feet as I begin to feel so tired.

"Damn." I grinded my teeth again, knowing there was no way out of this, but as one last act of rebellion against the humans I put my knife away and pull out my gun. Even with double vision I still shoot a couple of the men dead, to this action I get five more darts in me. I swagger a bit more, but this time I can't stay on my feet and I fall over, but I put the gun back in my holster before I do, my first thoughts being not to lose my father's gun. I try to keep my eyes open, try and stay awake as the men get closer to me. I want to fight back, but it feels like my strength has been zapped away.

"Take this one straight to the lab. We have to identify what she's infected with before deciding what we'll do with her." A familiar voice instructs the other men as he walks up to me as well. I still have my eyes open, if just barely, as two biohazard suit wearing guys grab both my arms and start to drag me away. None of the rest of my body works, everything completely numb and un-responding. As they drag me away I see the man with the familiar voice. He's the only one wearing just a lab coat with no extra gear. I have to squint to see his face as he turns to me. He walks behind the two men dragging me away and smiles sadistically down at me. Like the cat that's caught the mouse. Difference was; he wasn't gonna eat me; he was going to experiment on me. I'd rather have been eaten.

His blue eyes and brown hair, the glasses he was wearing. My eyes widen, I gasp, and then I feel reinvigorated with anger. "John?" I paused as he just watches me with sick joy. The mouse that fell for his trap, the mouse so tempted by cheese she couldn't see through the lies. "YOU BASTARD!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, trying so desperately to get control of the rest of my body. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU SICK SON OF BITCH! YOU HEAR ME! I'M GONNA- _eh_." Suddenly there's a syringe in my neck, John's hands holding it there as he smugly smiles, the two men still dragging me along.

"All you're going to do is be a good little test subject, and go to sleep." He says, _'shushing'_ me as if I were a child. I try to say something else but everything goes dark, and I get lost in the Abyss once again.

'_Damn. Wait for me, Dad, Lily; looks like things are gonna take a little longer than I thought.'_

**-X-**

**End Notes: **_Crap, this ended up being longer than I thought it would be. Almost over 9,000 words! I just thought I'd end up barely hitting 7,000. So, time of truth, what did you think? I skipped a head, yes, but you'll get to see everything she mentioned. And, I know, she has no name yet. Well, she does but I intentionally don't mention it. I kinda did, if you were paying attention. Were you? What do you think her name should be?_

_Anything else you guys noticed that caught your eyes? Hmm? Foreshadowing is all over this chapter. And yeah, big deal I revealed who the God was that people kept mentioning. Like you guys didn't already know. I also made some references to different songs and stuff, don't remember how many._

_Spent many late nights up working on this and I thought it would catch several people's interest that found the prologue to be boring. Next chapter will be pretty interesting too! I'm going to start working on that right now actually._

_So, R&R, tell me what you think. Tell me how many bits of foreshadowing you saw and what you think they mean. Tell me what you think her name will be. Tell me anything really! I just would like every ones opinion on this. I had a lot of fun writing it. I seem to only enjoy writing characters that are always sad, angsty, and snarky. I can never write a happy character. Well, she'll be a bit happier next chapter, as she gets a companion that's gonna hate her guts. Let's just say their bunk buddies!_

_Also, should I change the rating to M?_


	3. Unknown

**Author's Note: **_Warning: Language and violence! Yeah, I guess that's a no brainer. I am also surprised to see so many reviews so quickly! I'm really thankful to all of your support! I'm hoping this will be a long and intriguing story! There will be filler, but sometimes the filler is the best! Not this chapter though, in this chapter I introduce a new character I think you guys will like! More foreshadowing and I'm hoping some very interesting twists! Ideas and requests are welcomed! I'll have plenty of filler and since my brain is not endless, suggestions are like miracles to me!_

**Edited Version: **_Fox Mew Brittany__ was my beta._

_Enjoy!_

_**Special thanks to:**_

_Pancoon: _I agree this one is pretty different from the other two, and when I say that I mean the tone of the story. It is most assuredly not all about Wesker or the character finding or being with Wesker. I think if you like the changes so far you're really gonna like how different a role Wesker gets this time around. He's still God and a douche bag by all accounts, but the world does not revolve around him, and he'll learn that the hard way! ^_^ Thank you SO MUCH for the review and I'm really glad you like the changes! I hope you continue to enjoy the story, for the story will continue to enjoy you! XD 'Cause apparently we're in Soviet Russia.

_Fox Mew Brittany: _Yes, this story will indeed continue to get more interesting. I have a lot of twists and turns planed for in the future! These are mainly a lot of ideas I could never use when writing the other two stories I had. I like this one much better and I'm having a lot more fun writing it! Just wait though Sora, if you can feel some of Yellow Eyes' pain now, you're gonna be heartbroken later. I've got Erik Kripke and Steven Moffet stuff planned! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm going to physically and emotionally rip this character to shreds! Oh, and yes, Doctor John Lockheart will be in a world of pain soon. ^_-

_BMD-X: _I'm glad to hear you like the flash back style; this story is full of it. *Looks down* Oh, look! There's some right there! XD Oh, and there is going to be SOOOO MUCH twisted angst in this story. I think you're gonna love it! ^_^

**-X-**

**Dog Days of Post-Paradise**

**Chapter 2: **_Journal Entry; __"Unknown"_

_Journal Entry:__ Unknown_

_Status: __Unknown _

_The hallway is dark, the house silent as it usually is at night. I rub my eyes, holding my angel dog teddy bear thing tightly under my arms, in a headlock. I remember falling asleep on the couch, when I woke up my favorite blanket was covering me. I had been waiting for Dad to come back from where ever it was he went._

_I had been awoken by the sound of my baby sister crying upstairs. I followed the darkness, hugging the stuffed animal closer, as I made my way upstairs. I heard more crying now, but this time it wasn't from my baby sister. I reach the top of the stairs and I can see into Lily and my dad's shared room. I stop and see that my dad is holding Lily in his arms, rocking her back and forth, as he cries. _

_I feel something knot in the pit of my stomach watching this, something a three year old shouldn't feel. Watching my dad cry made me want to cry, it made me want to run into his room and hug him and tell him everything would be alright, like he always did me. But I was reminded of something my dad had once said about situations like this. When others cry, staying strong for them is always the best thing to do. So, as I walked into my father's room, I did something a three year old shouldn't have to do._

_I stayed strong for my father, and from then on was his little soldier. I walked up to the bed and watched Lily wiggling in his arms. I subtly put my small hand on his knee and looked up into his stormy blue eyes._

"_Dad?" The man in question looked down at me and tried to smile. But before he could wipe his tears away and pretend his moment of weakness didn't happen; I interrupted him. "Why are you crying?" I looked up at him with my serious gaze and tried to be strong for him. But I was just a kid._

_The man sighed and took one of his hands from Lily to put it on my head. He rubbed my hair affectionately and his eyes became distant. He seemed to think deeply about my question, his movements stiff. "Your mother, she isn't coming home tonight." He stated, not able to look at me in the eyes. _

_I grab his arm and just stare at my father. Strangely I am not put off by this, my mother never really seemed loving, and she had always been cold and serious. She never really paid attention to me or really ever cared about me. I had never really liked the woman, but something about this upset my father greatly. I looked up at him again and asked: "Why?"_

_My father looked at the ground, distant again. Tears still seemed to be streaming from his eyes. He took a deep breath and suddenly put Lily in my arms. My baby sister merely gurgled at me and smiled. She had no idea what was going on, but she was just a baby._

"_Could you do me a favor?" My father asked, his sad eyes looking at the two of us. I merely nodded, knowing that was a good enough answer. "I'm very tired and Lily doesn't seem to want to go back to sleep, could you sing that lullaby I taught you to her, for me?" He said, his hands idly playing with the black curls on Lily's head. I nodded again and started rocking my baby sister in my own arms._

_That's when I started to sing, and as I did my father began to cry again. _"Been a long road to follow, been there and gone tomorrow, without saying goodbye to yesterday."_ I knew my father would feel better if I didn't see his tears, so I walked over to Lily's cradle and put her down gently. _"Are the memories I hold still valid? Or have the tears deluded them?"_ There is a window above my sister's cradle and I look out of it to see the full moon and the dark August sky. I hear my father crying behind me and I try to stay strong for him._

"Maybe this time tomorrow, the rain will cease to follow, and the mists will fade into one more today."_ I kept singing, my sister stilling and her eyes lazily drifting shut. The more I sing the more I heard my dad calm, the tears stopping as the room felt sorrowful. _"Cause the road keeps on telling me to go on. Something is pulling me; I feel the gravity… of it all."_ I finish the lullaby my dad taught me, my sister asleep, and my dad's tears silent._

_I turn to him and he looks at me, then he slowly begins to hold out his arms. I instantly know what that means and I run to him. I jump into his arms, tightly hugging his chest, my stuffed animal long since forgotten. He hugs me back, his face nuzzled into my neck. I feel wetness and know he is crying again. He begins to pet my head as I feel tears threaten to fall from my own eyes._

"_Do something for me, baby. Protect your sister, be there for her. Okay?" My dad is still hugging me tightly as he asks this, and I nod into his chest. "Whatever happens, be there for her, and don't ever give up." I just keep nodding as my grip on him tightens. I feel as if something is about to take him away from me, and I tighten my grip even more. "I know things are going to be hard for you and Lily, but you're her older sister and she's going to look up to you. You're gonna have to set a good example for her." My dad then tugs me away from him, and I sit awkwardly on his lap as his stormy blue eyes look into mine. He's smiling again, but his expression is still so sad and distant. "Be the best hero I know you can be. Can you do that for me? My sweet sweet little angel." His smile is so warm and all I can do is nod._

"_Don't let him win. Lily needs you." Suddenly my father isn't there, I'm not sitting on his lap anymore, and darkness surrounds me. All I can hear is his voice. "Don't give up. Just sing that song I taught you, and believe in the hero that I believe in."_

_I start to fall; spiraling into the darkness, my father's words the only things that guide me. I feel so alone, and so wrong. My heart cracked into a million pieces, a living monster inside of me. As I fall I reach for the only light there is. I keep ahold of my father's voice, but all I can do is fall._

"_DAD!"_

**-X-**

"DAD!" I rocket up into a sitting position, a cold sweat running down my entire body. I put my hands through my hair and grip the roots on my head tightly, nearly pulling them out as I suddenly feel so much pain. This pain is usually caused by my heart throbbing in sadness, but this time there is pain all over my body. The ache physical, very real, and very bad. I want to scream it hurts so badly.

I get into a fetal position, my hands still in my hair, my eyes closed tightly. The pain just soars throughout my body, throbbing, stinging, everything hurt. When the pain lessens at least a little bit I open my eyes again. At this point in my life I am used to waking up in strange places, but this one took the cake. Seeing the room, that's when it hits me, and I remember everything. John Lockheart had betrayed me; he had lured me to that lab so he could capture me.

Now I was in a containment cell. The walls were all white, the door having one slot in it, the rest sealed shut with a key card and code lock on it. I was actually lying on a mattress, but that was all it was, a mattress with one sheet and a pillow. I threw off the sheet and as soon as my feet hit the ground all of the lights in the room turned on. I saw the floor was made out of glass, lights, and pressure sensitive material.

My feet are bare and I am wearing what seems to be an all-white jump suit. None of my gear is in sight, and I realize quickly that those sickos have not only my journal but the last picture I have of my family. I shoot up from the bed and run toward the metal containment door. I bang against it, punching it with my superior strength, but that doesn't so much as put a dent in it. I have to get on my toes so that my mouth is to the slot in the door.

"YOU SICK FUCKS! GIVE ME BACK MY STUFF! LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE! IF YOU DON'T OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW I'LL SLAUGHTER EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE OF YOU!" I yell at the top of my lungs, completely destroying the silence that had filled the air. I continued to bang on the door, desperate for release. "YOU HEAR ME YOU SICKOS! YOU'RE ALL GONNA PAY FOR THIS! I'LL SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!" I keep yelling, kicking at the door now, acting like a furious caged beast. Which I am, _technically_.

"That won't work, _idiot_." A voice other than my own suddenly fills the air. It sounds a bit distant, yet close too. The voice is gruff, certainly a man's, but also young, teenaged sounding. There is a light accent with the tone of the voice, but I can't figure out what kind.

I turn around and finally notice that there is only a wall of glass separating me and the other infected in the containment cell next to me. He is sitting against the wall, a puzzle of some sort in his hands. He plays with it halfheartedly, his body posture pointing to him being out of his mind bored.

"You think punching and kicking a titanium lined oxygen sealed door will work? It was specifically built to keep us in. What kind of fool are you?" The guy's hair is swept over his face and it looks to be a dark blue color in tint. His bangs hide the color of his eyes, but I can smell him, he is most assuredly an Elite. He is wearing the same clothes as I am. If I'm right he is in his late teens, and I am still older than him, but his disposition is mature. There is a possibility he too is older than he looks. He might be taller than me, but it is hard to tell while he is sitting. He looks strong and acts smart.

'_Dear God, what fresh Hell is this?'_ My expression is dead pan and I am glaring at the Elite with no name. He looks up at me, no more impressed with me than I am of him, and I can see his bright solid red eyes. He gets up from the bed and walks over to the glass separating our rooms. I suddenly notice the mechanical collar around his neck. I lift my hand up to feel if I am wearing one too, and I am. I feel of it as I sized up the Elite. I walk towards him and now only glass separates us. As I feel of the collar and stare at my blood determined enemy, I know the collar is there to keep us in line, tiny shock disrupters built into the side of it.

As he looks at my eyes he smiles smugly. "How ironic; to see those pathetic humans have actually captured the _Yellow Eyed Devil_." He chuckles and it rumbles deeply in his throat. He sneers then, suddenly punching the glass separating our faces. I don't flinch, my face still dead pan. He pulls back and puts his hands behind him. "No words for me, _Devil?_" He spits, his teeth shining at me from how he lowly growls. His skin is pale and really he looks tired, but he is tall and looks strong, in both will and power. I wonder how humans could capture such an Elite, and then I remember how they captured me.

My yellow eyes watch him as he stares at me with his deep red ones. "Devil?" I question, still not moving as I watch what would, in a normal circumstance, be my prey. He smiles again and begins to pace, the puzzle in his hands again as he plays with it, trying to seem cool.

"Yes." He pauses as he continues to pace. "Our people believe that the only person who could ever go against our God is the Devil." He explains lightly, his tone merely informative. He stops and analyzes his puzzle closely, finally solving it. "To be like us, yet have yellow eyes. How does it feel to be the only one of your species?" He asks sincerely, putting his puzzle back together again. He doesn't look at me again for a while, as he paces the short length of his cell like a restless lion.

I stop watching the Elite so intensely, realizing there was no way he could attack me in here. I lighten up a bit; deciding to get some entertainment out of this stupid bastard. I settle and sit back down on the bed, watching the door intently. "I'm just glad I'm not some bat shit crazy religious hypocritical monster. You should be the one telling me how it feels to bow down to a sick murdering fuck that has the ego to call himself God." I lay down, laying my head on my arms behind me, waiting for the explosion of anger from the Elite. I folded my legs and looked up at the ceiling, counting the lights as I can hear the anger pour from the creature near me.

"It's better than being a master-less dog that still believes they're something they're not." He spits; venom and a sneer covering the very baritone voiced response. I can hear him growling under his breath, probably licking his teeth in hunger for a fight. I feel that same itch, the compulsion to kill my enemy infected. But I had always been good about controlling the urges that came with being what I was.

"Hmm." I shrug, his words not affecting me in the slightest. Truly; I had heard it all already. Insult after insult tossed my way after a year of wandering the desert. "I'm used to it; being alone." I sit up again, leaning down to grab the sheet I left on the floor. I put it around my shoulders, finally feeling how cold it was inside the cell. "But as for believing I'm something I'm not, _well_; I'd rather be some strange _thing_ than some strange monster that murders innocent people in the name of their supposed God." I state roughly, lying back down now that I had something to cover my body. I put my arms under my head again and sigh. This was going to get old quick.

"Pft." I can hear that the Elite has moved again, I turn my head to see that he is sitting against the glass pane that separates us. All I can see is his back as his shoulders tense. "Humanity is just a disease this planet was stricken with; we are the cure to such a disease." He pauses, I turn my head to the ceiling again and hear him playing with that damn puzzle. "We are the evolution Earth was waiting for for so long. We are the head of the food chain, the top of the ladder. We are forced evolution through slight mutation and the virus." The Elite explains, his voice plan and simple, as if he had read such words out of a textbook, or maybe as if those words had been repeated over and over again to him, like being brainwashed.

I laugh lightly, knowing every word that he could ever think to say to me would be total bull shit. I just shake my head and shrugged him off. "Whatever, _Darwin_." I say sarcastically, suddenly very tired again.

"Do not call me by such." I can literally hear the monster pouting, his arms crossed like a kids. "I do not have a name, I have a rank! You will respect that rank and call me as such!" He demanded, and I imagined him kicking up a storm, throwing a temper tantrum. I laughed again, but this time much louder, and I could sense the glare that was coming my way.

I shrugged and looked over at him; he had not moved an inch since I had last looked. "Okay, _Darwin_; what's your rank?" I asked, when the Elite threw me another glare from over his shoulder, I smiled. For some reason I was getting a real kick out of tormenting him. I guess I just couldn't take any Elite seriously, and pissing them off was just too much fun.

"Thirteen." He responded proudly, turning back to sit straight against the wall. My brows furrowed in confusion. I may have lost a few of my memories since changing, but I remembered all of the facts I had learned throughout my life. So I can assure you someone was screwing with this poor guy, letting him think a number was a rank. Maybe he was low on the food chain of the Elite after all.

"Ummm, sorry to burst your bubble big guy, but thirteen is not a rank, it's a number. Rank is like captain or general and stuff." I explain, sitting up now, as I watch the Elite look over at me with an expression on his face that made me think I was retarded. He shook his head and turned himself so he was looking at me, his face stern as if he was about to scold a child. I gave him a contorted facial expression.

"You are truly an incompetent moron." He stated, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "Clearly I know that." It wasn't clear to me, the freaking shit head Elite, they're so freaking obnoxious with their big words and attitudes. "The number represents my rank, strength status, and where I am among the chain of command. I am thirteen Elite below the first one, our Lord General whom gives us direct orders from God." He explained, his arms crossed the entire time, a serious and sour look on his face. He looked back up at me and I could see his dark red eyes clearly again for the second time. They actually swirled with two different shades of red, like fresh blood against old dried blood.

To tell the truth, I liked my solid neon yellow eyes better. They were far less creepy. My eyebrows scrunch together as I shrugged, trying not to get angry while contained. Who knows when I'd need my strength to make an escape. '_Speaking of which.'_ "Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a twist Unlucky Thirteen." I hold up my arms in surrender, as it is very tiring to argue with brainwashed Elite, and I was indeed getting tired of it. He glares at me again and I shake my head. "Let's skip over the un-pleasantries and talk about how to get the Hell out of here." I say, my tone serious as I wonder how far this Elite had gotten in escaping so far.

"It's impossible." Is all he says as the atmosphere darkens considerably and he turns to face away from me again. He goes to playing with his puzzle and I feel like beating the shit out of him. My hand fists and I get up and walk over to the glass pane.

"There is no freaking way I'm giving up so easily! Isn't there like; underlings coming to save you or something?" I ask, kneeling down so we're a bit closer. If I wanted to escape, dare I say it, I needed his help; and there is nothing more useless than an Elite who's already given up. He glances over his shoulder for a second, his glaring darker than ever, before he looks away again.

"They are all dead. Anyone who would be willing to rescue the likes of us, died in here weeks ago. I was the last living thing in here before they captured you." I nearly gasped as I heard, and I couldn't believe it, sadness in his voice. He sounded sorrowful, upset with himself, as if he had let his kind down. I didn't think Elite had emotions like that. All the Elite I'd ever had the displeasure of meeting were stuck up douche bags. I actually felt…_bad_ for him.

He must have spent such a long time in here, alone, all by himself. They must have broken him, making him feel as if the death of so many of his kin was all his fault. I never thought I'd feel so bad for an Elite, ever, not in a million years. They did, after all, try to kill me around every corner. But, clearly, Unlucky over here was different.

"Well," I paused, turning to slide down the glass wall, sitting back to back with Thirteen. "I guess we'll just have to kill every bastard here for every one of your kinsman who died in this Hell hole." I announced, followed by a pregnant silence filling the air between us. I heard Unlucky shift, then his face was at my neck, but we were still separated by glass.

"Why would you do such a thing? For me? We are enemies." He asked, sincere confusion written all over his face. My yellow eyes looked into his red, a smile formed on my face as I looked into those eyes that gave me nightmares. Maybe, just maybe, we'd be the first to disrupt the stereotypes of Elite and Freak. We'd be the first that aren't at each other's throats as soon as we're in each other's reach.

"Simple," I paused, looking at his puppy dog like confused face. Other than the high and mighty attitude, the super strength, and the brainwashing, the guy seemed like a five year old. He seemed so curious and confused by things out of his usual box of thinking. "Because in here we're not enemies, we're prisoners, and prisoners always put aside their differences to help each other escape. Then as soon as we're out, we'll kill each other." I explained, a grin on my face as I spoke. I seemed to have caught his attention, and weakened or not, he would be a good ally to have. "Deal?" I asked, my head tilted toward him.

There was another silent pause between us. His face went expressionless for a few seconds, before he started laughing, a deep chuckle rumbling throughout the adjoined rooms. He begins to laugh so hard he falls over from where he had been sitting. He looks…_good_ when he's not being serious or sour. The smile on his face suits him and actually makes him look pretty hot. I shake my head at the thought though, bad me for even thinking such a thing!

"You must be the stupidest creature I have ever met! To think that you are the one they call the Devil of the Earth with Yellow Eyes!" He begins to laugh harder, rolling on the floor now. My eyes narrow and I pout; I take back every nice thing I'd ever said about Unlucky. "But," The Elite gets back up and wipes his red eyes. He laughs very lightly one last time before smiling a dark smile. "Against my better judgment, I will make this deal with you." He states, a shine in his eyes. I imagine that that shine was there before he had been broken. That shine representing determination and life. It looked good on him.

I nodded, brushing my bangs back with my hand. I smile lightly, looking away from him. "Good, but from here on in, I'm calling you Darwin." I smirk at him as his smile fades and he glares at me again, the shine still in his eyes though.

"What! Why?" He asks, his face almost touching the glass as he tries to kill me with his stare. I smolder at him and he grows confused, eyebrows raised. His confused look is hilarious, and a little cute.

"Because, you look like a Darwin." To that the Elite just shakes his head and sighs, sitting back down.

"Then what shall I call you?" He asks, us back to back, as the Elite had turned himself around again. The two of us only separated by a thin sheen of glass.

"Devil?" I shrug, not really caring. To tell the truth, I don't have a name, just folk tale that people call me by.

"What do others call you?"

I ponder on that for a second. "Angel, they call me Angel." I say slowly.

The Elite smirks and chuckles deeply again. "How contradicting."

"Tell me about it. Now I'm Devil Angel."

**-X-**

"Hmmm." I stretch, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. When I do my feet never hit the end of the mattress, my head does not fall on a pillow, and the sheet does not rustle above me. My eyes, even under my eyelids, hurt and I open them, only to be blinded by overly bright lights above me. I squint and blink my eyes rapidly.

I close them again as I feel around with my hands. I am on what feels like cold linoleum floor and there isn't anything anywhere near me. After feeling around some more I get the courage to stand up. I still refuse to open my eyes as I sniff around. The room smells like disinfectant and what seems like the light remnants of dried infected blood.

This discovery makes my heart skip a beat. This room could be the very room that some of Darwin's kin died in. Usually this would make me smile, but this time I was in their shoes. Elite were trained in combat by their superiors, or so so many had boasted. But, contrary to belief, Elite were not all bark, they had one damn good bite. They had super powers and training to control those powers. I admit I am weaker than any Elite, as I have no idea how to use some of the abilities I have, and I lack a lot of the power some Elite have.

Yet; I've always been able to outwit them. No, I'm not saying I'm some genius with a mind for chess and shit, it's just I've found the kinks in their armor, their weakness for boasting and speaking of their God. It's so easy to mess with them and get the last punch in. I've actually never killed an Elite before, no one can, that I know of. Most infected are actually immortal. I think I am too, but I'd rather not test that.

So it was a shock to me when Darwin had told me that his fellow Elite had died in here. I know you can't kill them like you can a normal human, so they must have died due to a fluxion with the virus inside of them. Infected live because of the virus pumping in their veins, change it even a little, and they'll wilt like flowers without water, dying petal by petal.

But in my case, pain is still pain and I'd really rather avoid it.

"_So, how are you doing today Yellow Eyes?"_ A familiar voice fluttered into the room, it sounded disoriented, so I could only guess it was coming into the room through an overhead intercom system. The voice was deep, smooth, and arrogant. It could only have been one man.

"Fuck you John Lockheart!" I yell at the top of my lungs, my eyes still closed as I sniffed the room more fervently. I go to bed for one second and I wake up here! _'Mental note; never go to sleep again.'_ I growled as I finally did open my eyes.

I looked around, panicked, angry, and ready to ripe John Lockheart's fucking heart out! I bared my teeth like an angry dog, growling still as I looked around, my eyes adjusted. As I spin around, my noes finally finding the smell of human, I see a reverse mirror in the all-white room. My bare feet pad over to the mirror and I punch it with all my might. It shatters but doesn't fall from the wall. The upside though; now I can hear voices on the other side of the wall without the intercom on, and they don't know it. I smirk, the sound of gasps and frightened yelps filling my ears.

"_Tad grumpy today, aren't we Yellow Eyes?" _John's voice filters into the room again through the intercom, but this time there is an echo, because I can hear it come from his mouth first. Mumbles and whispers come into the room through the shattered mirror. Apparently these people think of me like some rat in a maze, there just for their damn amusement.

"_How about we fix that?"_ John's tone is condescending; he thinks of me the same as the others, his toy to play with. I know this as I suddenly hear a click one second and I'm on the ground in pain the next. Electric currents flow through my body like a river, nearly sweeping me away like pebble in the current, the pain over whelming me. Had there been a light bulb in my mouth it would have lite up I was so chalked full of electric energy. I even began to smell, hear, and feel some of my flesh cooking. As the pain becomes too much it abruptly stops and all the damage that was done is healed in a matter of seconds. I feel of the collar around my neck, it's warm, and I know it was the culprit for the shock I had received.

I hear whispers again, my vision blurry as I look up from where I was on the ground. The whispers speak of how awed they are toward my healing ability and how they wished to have such an ability themselves, what they could do if they could heal at an accelerated rate. Really? Even after the world is so full of infected there are still humans that would pay useless money to be infected themselves? _'OH. MY. GOD! How stupid are these people?'_

"_How do you feel now Yellow Eyes?"_ John asked whimsically, as if he was interested but really enjoyed torturing me more. He was one sadistic hypocritical bastard, that was for sure. I could hear scribbling going on behind the mirror, people taking notes about me.

"Like I just got hit by lightning," I paused, sitting up as I rubbed the back of my head, trying to sooth down the hairs that were still sticking up on the nape of my neck. "You annoying fuck." I growled out, finishing my sentence as I looked back up to the mirror. I could sense the man's smile as I got shocked again, but this time it was quick and not as painful.

"_Behave and we'll get done with this quickly."_ He explained, delight in his voice. I then hear him talking to other people. I cannot see through the mirror but I hear him explaining the tests he was about to put me through to the other people there with him. Apparently he was about to test my strength, endurance, stamina, and speed. I sigh at hearing this.

I stand up as soon as I don't hear any more whispering. I stretch and pop my back, and then I roll my shoulders and pop them too. Lastly; I roll my neck and hear that last pop before I hear hissing. I look over my shoulder to find a giant rattlesnake the size of the room coming at me. My eyes widen and my heart nearly stops.

A millisecond before the snake strikes I jump back. The snake's head hits the ground harshly and the room shakes. It comes back quickly though, not stunned in the least, as I hear its tail rattle. I have to jump back again before its fangs hit me. Both of its fangs gleam in the light, the size of my arms, with black goo oozing out of the extremely sharp tips. It was an Ender alright, the only type of snake that could get the jump on me.

It must have come into the room while I was stretching and I didn't have the time to smell it or sense it. Those damn Enders are pretty fast, even with their mass and size their speed is pretty impressive. The scorpion and spider Enders are the worst. If you ever run into a Brown Recluse Ender you're pretty much fucked.

I sense the Ender about to make a move this time and jump back away again, avoiding its attack completely. Before I can blink the snake goes to strike with its tail, I'm cornered at this point and jump onto the wall without thinking. Odd thing was, after jumping onto the wall, I didn't fall. I blinked and felt confused, before looking down. I smile and feel excitement filling me.

"I'm fucking Spider-man bitches!" I yell, amazement and surprise in my voice and face as a huge smile spreads across my face. The moment is short lived as the snake goes to strike again, this time, since I was distracted, one of its fangs nicks me in the shoulder. Instantly I feel the venom disintegrating my shoulder, black goo bubbling through my skin. Black ooze is all over my arm, making bit of skin after bit of skin fall off said arm.

I howl out in pain as I land on the other side of the room, falling to one knee, as I had pushed myself off of the wall and was too weakened by pain to continue standing. I watch the snake angrily; my shoulder burning as it felt like it was on fire. I had to stop moving to heal. I had two seconds to concentrate on the wound to heal it before the snake would be at my throat again. So I closed my eyes and concentrated all my senses on getting rid of the venom and healing my arm. Everything around me seems to dull in background greys, motion in the real time world slowing down, as I concentrate my whole body on healing.

The snake gets closer and closer every second. I can feel the snake moving, yet I do not at the same time. It feels like I have two completely different minds, one paying attention to survival, the other to senses of action. It's a strange sensation and I've contemplated it before. But now wasn't the time to question how strange I was.

The second I feel every drop of black ooze from my arm fall and hit the floor is the same second I jump back again, sticking to the farthest wall from the snake. I look at my shoulder and flex my used-to-be harmed arm and hand. My skin is back to the way it was, my hand fine, almost as if the snake never touched me. Over the hiss of the snake I heard more awed whispers and pen scribbling, I rolled my eyes.

Quickly, I turn my attention back to the Ender. It's raised its head up again and poised to strike, I rolled my neck and shook my head. An Ender can only do so much before its actions are see-through-able. I rolled my shoulders back one last time before launching myself at the snake's head. While still in mid-air, and using the added force from my push off the wall, I turned and kicked the snake right in the nose. While said foot was still on said nose I pushed off it too, putting extreme pressure on the already broken part of the snake, my body flying through the air like a bird.

I landed on the wall again, really loving this newly discovered ability, I sat there and watched the snake twist and writhe in pain. I smirked, knowing the Ender was angry now and it'd come in for the final blow next. It did such and rattled its tail as it launched its whole body at me. I smiled and jumped back off the wall only seconds after the snake launched itself. The second I landed on the ground again, the room trembled and shook, and a dead Ender landed on the ground after bashing its brains out on the wall it had propelled itself toward.

I smiled, proud of myself as the giant snake laid dead on the ground. I almost forgot where I was as I took in my great victory, before I heard more whispers and scribbling, then I scowled again. I looked over at the mirror, the adrenaline rush gone; I felt cold air hitting my arm through the hole in the white jump suit. With the cold air came realization and an over flow of anger.

"Hey!" I yelled, the whispers stopping as I sauntered up to the mirror. "You see that Lockheart?" I asked sarcastically as I pointed to the dead Ender a foot away from me. "That's gonna be you! You got that!" I smirked at the horrified noises coming from the shattered mirror. "No, fuck that, you're gonna wish you were that lucky when I get done with you!" I announced, looking dead at where I knew John was standing, I could smell him. And you know what? He was the only one in the room not breaking a sweat in fear, even though the threat was for him. _'Damn, he's good.'_

"_Oh really?"_ He asked with what sounded like pure excitement in his voice. It really sounded like he was getting off on my threats, not getting scared. This thought terrified me! _'I better not end up strapped to a table with him near me, AT ALL!'_ I think as I hear his deep breathing through the intercom. I know I had a disgusted and confused look on my face right now. _"I look forward to the encounter."_

'_Oh I bet you do you psycho twisted sick freak!'_ I grimaced deeply, still hearing him breathing. It actually felt like he was breathing down my neck now, all the hairs on my back standing on end. It was beyond creepy.

"_See you soon, Yellow Eyes."_ John announced his good bye and I got confused.

"Wha-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" All of a sudden, I heard that click again, and the room went spiraling out of control around me. A thousand currents and rapid rives going up and down my spine, roaring through my body. I was a living tesla coil! It was a thousand times worse than earlier. Every hair on my body standing on end charged enough to light up an entire room, maybe even an entire house! My body felt all pinched up, my nerves getting fried, and it felt like I was on fire! I tried not to scream, but it was hard not to.

When my brain started to work again and my entire body was covered in needle prick feelings, everything numb to the core, I found myself flat on the floor, drool coming out of my mouth. I couldn't move anything and I felt so tired. John had filled my body up with so much electricity he had nearly made me brain dead. Of course, it would have killed a normal human being.

The next thing I know I'm getting dragged away by biohazard suit guys again, and I wonder, how'd they get in that room, I never once saw any doors. I tried to move, I tried to get away, but I couldn't, nothing would respond. I felt so tired too; I let my eyes close as I kept getting dragged down endless hallways.

I ended up falling asleep before I saw where they were taking me.

**-X-**

**End Note: **_So can anyone guess where Angel's going to wake up? Not back in her cell that's for sure! Did you guys like Darwin? I think he's my favorite character to write so far! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter too! I know there was a lot of language, but Angel was pretty upset that John took her journal._

_By the by, just a heads up, next chapter's gonna be pretty twisted. So twisted I really gotta change the rating to M for it. Sorry kiddies, next chapter will not be for the faint of heart, but with this website, there's a lot worse._

_R&R please! What did you think?_


	4. Truth is Never Enough

**Author's Note: **_I have to admit I'm as happy as a puppy getting a thorough belly rub. XD Weird, right? I'm happy for two reasons! One is that yesterday I got a brand new LED 39' HD TV for my game room. A Westing House TV that now has the nickname Westy. This TV is literally made for high quality next gen gaming! Skyrim and Mass Effect 3 are beautiful on this TV and I can't wait to see how awesome AC 3 will look on it!_

_The number two thing that is making me so happy is how awesome this story is turning out to be. All the reviews I'm getting are heartwarming! Most would say twelve reviews isn't that much, but each and every one of them are very important to me! Is that too gooshy? Oh well, I don't care! I love you all!_

_Not only that, every day I get new ideas for more twists and details to add to this story! I'm just having one heck of a time writing it! The added bonus is that other people are enjoying it as much as me! ^_^_

_I'm also really glad everyone liked Darwin and everyone has an equal hate on for Lockheart! That's pretty freaking awesome! The Snake Ender fight did turn out better than I had hoped; originally I'm not so good with battle scenes, but sometimes I get into it and it turns out better than expected._

_This chapter probably won't end up like what anyone had in mind, it sure surprised me!_

_**PS**__; the time line in this story is whack, I'm not really paying attention to the dates so much. I hope it's just clear enough that this is before that, or that is after this, and so on. Just pay attention to the journal entry numbers._

**Special thanks to the reviewers:**

Fox Mew Brittany: The order that the Elite, Chosen, and God have going is confusing. I wrote the first part of this chapter to hopefully explain it a little better, but just in case I'll run the idea of it by you. God is obviously head honcho; Lord General whom is the top Elite is second in charge. The Chosen are completely different though, they're still under Wesker's orders but other than that can do whatever they want. They're as powerful as Wesker too, yet oddly accepted him as they're leader. The Chosen are a thousand times worse than the Elite, but aren't as self-righteous. Does that clear things up a little better? I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, this one might not be as awesome 'cause its filler, but don't worry, all in good time on the rest of that stuff. ^_-

Pancoon: XD I know I've read a lot of those Mary Sues too and I can't stand it when they're all gooshy for Wesker and fall in love with him when clearly he's a sociopathic madman Hell bent on destroying the world! It's the opposite for Angel, she's Hell bent on killing him and avenging the Earth. Makes more sense right? I'm glad you like the way the story is going and the Devil Angel thing, I enjoyed putting that in the story, my characters have always been known to have odd names with hidden context to them. ^_^ It's a thing I do. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! This chapter is mostly filler, plugging in gaps that needed filling. Also, you're very welcome, to tell the truth I write stuff like this for practice before working on the novels I work on.

BMD-X: Most definite angst. It seems everyone liked Darwin and wants Lockheart dead. John's gonna die but Darwin's going to be an off and on character. You'll see!

SinglePringle15: No, not quite yet. Wesker won't show up for another three or four chapters and when he does show up, well; you'll see. ^_^ Thanks for reviewing; I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

**-X-**

**Dog Days of Post-Paradise**

**Chapter 3: **_Journal Entry 8; __"Truth is Never Enough"_

_Journal Entry 8: __April 20__th__, 2015._

_Status:_ _Taking shelter…._

_I write in this journal so that I never forget, so that I can better remember the people who I have forgotten._

_My sister and my father, the memory of them is in my mind, hidden, and I am determined to uncover it. I remember small details about them now, large memories coming to the forefront of my mind here and there, but I still cannot remember their names or mine._

I click the pen multiple times, my hands restless and itching for something that I don't know of. The closer I go _north_ the more my body reacts to certain things. I feel my nostrils flare even at the smallest smells, my muscles tighten suddenly at random intervals, and I just feel like my blood is bubbling in my veins. I do not understand why I feel this way, these weird thoughts in my head, or some of the urges I have. Truly, it feels like a bee hive of bees are stuck under my skin and in my mind.

I let my body tremble out the strange urge and I shake myself so that my mind comes back to reality. I feel the cold grip of the silver pen in-between my fingers and come back to the view of my journal. I sigh, feeling exhausted even before the day had begun. The farther North I go the less sleep I get, the stranger I feel, and the more I think as if I should just go south, run away from these feelings. But I know better than that, running away from something I don't understand won't help anything. I have to find out what's causing these feelings; going further north is all I can do. So, I push away those thoughts and continue to write.

_It's been several days now since I have been out among the sands of the desert. The farther North I go the worse the monsters and sick mutations of the world get._

_I have avoided the outside world due to my fear of what I might find. Something inside of me is telling me that I will find something far more powerful than I myself over the next sand dune._

_This is a terrifying feeling, because so far I have been the worst monster among the wasteland that I have seen so far. That, of course, doesn't include the Enders I have come across._

_Enders are monsters, mutated creatures, that used to be normal animals or bugs. What has mutated them I don't know, that information is what I'm looking for._

_The last city I was in, really it was more of a small human gathering, I asked around about Doomsday. Everyone who knew anything about it told me the same thing._

"_Truth Lies in Hope"_

_When I asked what the Hell that meant, the people pointed North._

_So, here I am, hiding in the shelter of an old destroyed Super Market, trying to force myself to continue onwards._

"Shit." I stop writing, my hand trembling again. I feel a cold sweat break out above my brow. My body shakes as my skin quivers. It's cool in the dark corner of the large abandon Wal-Mart. I shiver, a cold wind spiking up my spine and under my newly acquired black button up shirt.

I close my journal and put my pen back in its pouch on my leg. I sigh and hold the black and white journal in my hands, the cover in which is covered in a sketch of large black and white angel wings. I hold the journal tightly, looking at it long fully. Day after day I look at it, either writing entries in it, which come far and few in-between, or I open it to see the memories I can't remember and read the text that makes no sense to me in my new mind set.

I hold it and feel how heavy it is emotionally, holding so many important things to me in it, yet how light it is to me physically. I take a deep breath and crawl over to my backpack a few feet away from me. The room is pitch black, yet I can still see as clearly as daylight, if not even better. I pick up the backpack and unzip the pouch in front, then I put my journal back inside and zip the pouch back.

After putting back the journal I let my body fall back, my head hitting my arm instead of the concrete as I lay back. I look up at the ceiling, old broken lights hanging down by thin wires hooked to old electric outlets near skylights leading back to little black boxes. I try and relax while lying isolated in the dark, no monsters out to get me or any humans to try and poke me with long and sharp sticks. _Don't ask._

I try and relax, but I can't. All my muscles are tense again, every hair on my body standing on end, my legs twitching in eager anticipation to move. I grit my teeth and toss and turn. My heart doesn't want to leave the comfort of the dark, my mind knows I need to leave to get answers, and my gut's pushing me forward. It's an all-out war inside of me.

"Damnit!" I yell, pushing myself up. I comb down my hair with my palm, and I tug on the roots with my fingers. I shake my head rapidly, a head ache coming on. Then I push my arms out wildly. "Fuck it! I'm going!" I decide as I reach over from where I'm sitting to grab my dark grey cloak, which just happens to be lying beside me. I stand up and push my arms into the sleeves as I toss the cloak around my body, my knife sheath and holster having been left on me. I pick up my backpack and put it over my shoulders.

I double check everything before walking to the front of the store. There, in front of me, were the double glass paned doors of the entrance. I gulp, a twisted knot in my stomach as I open the door and let in the sunlight. It burns my eyes badly, and I have to stand there, arm covering my face, for at least ten minutes before my eyes adjust. I look out to see an almost literal ocean of sand and heat waves. I know that as soon as I take this first step out of this shelter I will end up running into some deep shit.

'_Oh well.'_ I end up taking that first step anyway.

**-X-**

It's hot, really fucking hot. The sun is completely over cast above me in the sky, its rays hitting me like I'm being cooked in an oven. But with the radiation I'd say it's more like a microwave. I've hiked a ways since I last stopped for shelter. At this point I know I should have died from heat stroke, yet I go on like everything was just fine and dandy, my body not giving out once. Sometimes I wonder what I am, people having so many different names for me, but the longer I stay like this, with these glowing eyes, the less I care. It's like growing an extra limb or something, you just have to get used to it.

I wipe the sweat from my head, pieces of my dark highlighted hair sticking to my forehead like glue. I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders. I hear them pop as I grab for my canteen. I gulp down as much water as I can before I cap the metal cup again and clip it back to my backpack. I look up then, seeing another large sand dune standing before me like a tall hill. I sigh and climb it, sand slipping under my feet, my heels digging in.

I reach the top by getting on all fours and climbing the rest of the way up. By the time I reach the very top I'm covered in both sand and sweat, some parts of it mixing to make dirt that clings to my skin. I blink the sand out of my eyes as I stand up and look beyond. Suddenly, as if the heat waves dismissed themselves from the horizon, I see a small town. The town seems alive, as I see actual horses and people walking about. It looked like another one of the towns that had domesticated into western times, a saloon in the middle of it along with other rundown buildings.

In most towns like this anyone can walk in and out without being questioned. They won't ask about my sunglasses as long as I don't cause a ruckus. I sighed happily, ready to find a place where I could shower and get something musty to drink. Originally I imagined I had never drunk alcohol before, but a few weeks ago a man had given me a whiskey on the house, instantly I was addicted to the warm burn it had created in the back of my throat. Thing was, no matter how much I'd drink I'd never get drunk. This had actually disappointed me.

I started walking again as I saw the sun begin to lower. I nearly toppled over as I made my way back down the sand dune, the sand coming out from underneath my feet. But I kept steady as I finally reached the tougher ground. It was a bit longer of a trek before I got to the town. It seemed to be made out of ruined houses, old shops, and the saloon had been built in what used to be a catholic church. I actually smiled at that, the irony of it all. After no biblical apocalypse happened all those who prayed just started to drink, spirits becoming their new Trinity. It was sad but true, faith becoming nothing but dust in the wind.

I found myself in the town then, horses tied up to posts, people hiding away from the sun. The town was as quiet as ghosts when I walked in, almost as if they sensed what I was. Walking into the town's perimeter, the horrible sense I had been getting while traveling north had doubled. At this point I was ready to down as much whiskey as the bartender had.

I ignored all of the stares and headed straight for the white picket fence church. I made my way inside, fans going here and there as all the chatter stopped. Men and women alike, of all ages were gathered inside the bar. They whispered and murmured behind me as I went to sit at a barstool at the front bar. The young bartender eyed me, but seemed too content to care how strange I looked.

I pulled down the hood from my head as I got comfortable. I tossed my hair back and tried to get the dirt off my face. The look on the bartender's face changed considerably as he was able to see my face instead of a shadow casted by a hood. He smiled and walked over to me, leaning against the bar. The bartender had golden brown eyes, black short hair, a good tan, and a strange scar down the left side of his lip. The guy seemed to be checking me out, yet I felt comfortable with that. Hmm? I wondered why.

"You see something you like?" The bartender asked cheekily, trying to come onto me. I rolled my eyes and looked at the drinks he had in stock on the mirrored shelf behind him. He had brandy, bourbon, wine, beer, vodka, and Blue Grand 1911 Whiskey. Oh! That sounded pretty damn good!

"Yeah, Scar." I nodded and the guy raised a brow at the nickname I gave him. "I'll take that entire bottle of whiskey." I pointed, then put my hand in my pocket and pulled out wasteland currency; _bottle caps_. Oddly enough, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu when I thought about the bottle caps. I had a hand full of them, more than enough for the whiskey. I had had my fair share of run-ins with old ruined Wal-Marts full of bottle caps. So it was cheated money, basically, but no one cared. Currency was still in place just to keep some slight illusion of order. I think if everything had fallen to pieces after Doomsday everybody would have just gone crazy. It was humanity's way of hanging on.

The guy raised both brows, looking from the money to the whiskey. "You got a drinking buddy I don't know about or are you planning on drinking yourself to death?" He asked seriously as he sized me up, not imagining someone that looked around eighteen or nineteen could drink all of that without almost dying.

I chuckled; hand on my face as I shook my head. I looked back up at the guy and gave him a very serious dead pan expression. "You question all of your customers or just the ones whose pants you want to get into?" I asked, quickly doing a one eighty, going back to lightly cheerful so as not to cause any problems. I really didn't plan on going through the same thing I did last time in the last town. Those damn pitch forks hurt!

The guy shook his head and shrugged, handing over the bottle and taking the bottle caps in turn. It seemed to me that he didn't want trouble either. _Smart man_. I popped the top of the whiskey as soon as it was in my hands and downed it, drinking at least five gulps of it before putting it back down so I could breathe. The burn hurt yet felt soothing and good at the same time, I loved it, it was the closest to sex I'd ever get again.

I looked back at the bartender and his mouth was hanging open. His eyes were wide as he just had the cutest look of disbelieve on his face. Now that I thought about it, he was pretty good looking. I'd consider having sex with him if I wasn't worried he'd freak out about my eyes or that I'd accidentally kill him in a moment of ecstasy. At that thought I took another three gulps of the liquor, ignoring all the eyes that were on me.

"You got one heck of a stomach for hard liquor." The bartender mentioned, motioning to me as he went to pour another glass of beer for the guy furthest from me at the bar. He was gaping like a fish too and I really didn't care. But the bartender was laughing now and I felt a sour feeling inside of me seeing his cute smile and realizing that I'd never get to kiss another mouth again. I felt a darkness in me, as if maybe there had been someone special to me that I used to kiss that I couldn't remember. At that feeling I downed the entire rest of the bottle. "You must be really sad to drink like that." The guy stated his observations as he leaned opposite of me.

I felt a sad lost frown on my face, emotions hiding in the darkest part of me, wanting to ride up and drown me in their depths. I sighed through my nose as I just stared down at the bar, feeling as if everything was going to will its way up if I wasn't careful.

"Here." A tall cup full of something I couldn't recognize by sight or smell was placed in front of me, and I just stared at it. "It's on the house, one of my own concoctions. It always makes me feel better." The bartender said, pushing it further in front of me, prompting me to take a swing. I did indeed take that swing and it was pretty good. It tasted like a different assortment of tasty sodas mixed with the hard liquor of rum, bourbon, and scotch. Not only was there the soothing burn, but also the tingling that came with drinking soda. He was right; it did make me feel better.

"Thanks." I said, looking up at him again as I took another swing. The guy just smiled as he watched me finish down the cup. I was smiling a lot by the time I was done, a little light headed, as if I was just barely starting to feel the effects from the amount of alcohol that would have killed a three hundred pound man seven times already.

"'S okay." He nodded to me. "You look like you've lost someone really important to you. I know how that feels." He spoke sympathetically, his own eyes distant as mine had been earlier. But then he snapped out of it and put out his hand. "My names Desmond, what's yours?" He asked, holding out that inviting hand that was so scarred yet welcoming.

I sighed even deeper, nonchalantly shaking his hand. "I don't know." I admitted and he laughed lightly giving me a confused look, as if he didn't believe me. But as he was about to ask me how someone could not know their name, yelling started to come from outside. Instantly the whole bar went dead silent, the sound of horses trampling over some guy's poor body sounded, as pained screaming filled the air. The screaming lasted for a while, echoing so loudly it hurt my ears. As the noise stopped and the sound of someone getting off that horse was heard I felt my heart rate speed up by a million.

It felt like the worst thing in the world was walking toward me. Every hair on my body on end, my gut twisted up in knots, my heart about to come out of my chest, and my hand twitching near the hilt of my knife. I looked back toward the bartender; Desmond, as he held my hand tightly, us never letting go of each other from the handshake. I want to ask him what's going on, but the look in his eyes tells me enough. I felt like suddenly I was tossed into an old western movie, me being Clint Eastwood, about to kill the corrupt soul terrorizing these poor people.

Usually I'd avoid the whole thing, but I'd kill whoever just slaughtered that person outside with their horse. I'd do it for Desmond and his amazing mix of alcohol that actually made me light headed for a few seconds. I'd do it for him because he'd lost someone too.

I let go of Desmond's hand then, as I got up from the bar stool, Desmond gave me a pleading look, as if he knew exactly what I was about to do. I got up anyway and turned toward where the terrifying person that had silenced and froze so many people with their mere presence came in. I gripped the handle of my knife, and inched my finger to the grip of my gun. The first thing I saw was long curly blonde locks, what looked like a long white silk dress, and bare feet. It was a woman, a young one at that, and the front of her white dress was stained with fresh human blood.

I growled deep in my throat, suddenly overcome with the urge to kill. A mantra of the word bounced off the walls of the inside of my head. _'Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!'_ The tingling sensation inside of my mind kept saying over and over again. I felt my hands fist, the instinct to rip the woman's heart out in front of me so strong I trembled again. There was that returning feeling, the one that made everything in my body go crazy. The same feeling that pushed me north. I'd never felt such blood lust before, not even around Enders. It felt so strange, so sudden.

When the woman finally turned her pale and delicate features towards me, something inside my brain broke. For the very first time….I saw _red glowing eyes_.

**-X-**

My body shook violently and the woman's gaze landed on me harshly. But before she could walk over to me a middle aged man threw a bottle at her. The brown glass shattered at her feet, to normal human eyes it would look like the man simply missed her, but I had different eyes, and I saw how fast she moved to dodge the bottle.

"Get out of here you Elite bitch!" The old man yelled, angry and very very drunk. Everyone froze in terror, petrified, as the old man stood. The blonde woman, who had been wearing a poker face since she came in, glared at him with blood red eyes. Before anyone but me could blink, the man was dead, the blonde standing next to him, with his heart in her hand. The heart beat for one millisecond longer before she destroyed it, juices and blood going all over her and the people around her. The expression on her face did not change, not even as the lifeless body of the old man fell onto the table in front of him. Bottles fell and shattered on the floor, every human in the room looking everywhere but at the woman.

What had that man called her? An Elite? What was that? She was so much like me, yet so different. What is she? Am I anything like her in origin? I wondered. I just stood there, mouth dry, in all honesty gaping like a fish. I'd never seen anything like her before and if she was anything like me she would be really hard to kill. _If I could kill her at all._

The woman suddenly sniffed the air and I stiffened. She walked around, dancing almost, as if she owned everything. "I can smell it!" She yelled, her voice like silk as she marched around the glass covered room in her bare feet. "I can smell my kin! Yet," She pauses, sniffing the room again as I sit down. My heart was about to burst, it thrumming faster as she got nearer. _'Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.'_ The tingling in the back of my head was about to drive me nuts! "It doesn't smell like my brothers." She stated whimsically, and started to walk over to me with a stride in her step. "It smells more like," She stopped her pace, her thumb rubbing her chin as her red eyes looked distant in thought. "It smells more like Lord Father, God!" She yelled happily, her expression and tone like that of a five year old. She almost seemed excited about something. She spun then stopped again abruptly, sniffing the air once more. Her expression stiffened and then suddenly became dark. "But it also smells like Freaks and Undead! Blugh!" She made a throwing up motion as she spoke about how I smelled to her.

Later I'd analyze what she said about God, but for now all I could think was; _'You don't smell good either Blondie.'_ As I settled I went to grab a left out full shot glass on the bar, the movement was zeroed in on by the Elite girl. Before I could blink, my ears perked, and I found myself on the other side of the room, downing the shot as I saw the barstool I had been sitting on was destroyed.

"You smell strange." The blonde Elite girl was at my back, her nose in my neck as she sniffed me. I snarled at the movement and glared at the girl with red eyes that was touching my skin she was so close. "I bet Lord Father would love to meet you! You smell really similar to him!" She grabbed at my arm and tried to snap it, but before she could she was left alone on the other side of the room, as I was at the bar getting another drink. The girl pouted and was next to me again in a second. "Come on! Just let me break your bones a little! I feel so much like killing you! Something inside me wants me to see your insides out! But I'll try not to, Lord Father wouldn't be happy if I killed some of my kin. He really doesn't like it when we do that." She giggled, as if she was a child and that what she just said wasn't sickly wrong. Her long blonde hair hung over my shoulders, her chin sitting in my neck as she hugged my side. All she could keep doing was smelling of me, and I shivered at the touch of her cold skin on my enflamed skin.

I snarled very loudly then, her being so close driving my instincts up the wall. _'KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL!'_ The tingling got so much worse then, and because it was beginning to hurt, I whipped around, spinning, and forcefully tossed her off of me and into the wall. She went through it and so did my sunglasses. Because my brain was so broken I didn't care people could see my eyes, all I wanted to do was kill Blondie! So I threw down the shot glass and jumped through the hole Blondie left, and I walked out into the desert wasteland outside of the bar. The girl was standing already, wiping off her stained with blood white dress. After she was done with that she put her hand on her hip and pouted at me.

"Is that any way to treat your kin?" She asked darkly, glaring at me with her red eyes, when she finally noticed my own eyes. "Oh my! Your eyes are yellow!" She sounded astounded as she tilted her head at me, the two of us separated by about a foot. "I've never seen that before! All of us are red eyed! Well," She paused again and shook her head, a smile on her lips. "That is, all of us but Lord Father, he has yellow and red eyes!" She giggled again and twirled her dress around, lost in her own imaginations.

"Oh for fucks sake!" I yell, dashing at her with speed a human couldn't see. As her back is turned to me I pull out my knife and mid-dash slashed her, ripping her dress and putting a large cut across her back. She screamed, but not loudly, as she turned around suddenly and grabbed my arm. Before I could blink I was being kicked, a rib cracking, and then I was several feet away on the ground_. 'What the Hell?'_ I tried to get up, shake it off like I always do, but this time it wasn't so easy. Blondie was actually really strong.

Before I knew it I was being lifted up, a hand grabbing the front of my cloak, and lifting me off the ground like it was nothing. Dark red swirling eyes that looked very deadly and very angry looked back at me. I grit my teeth at her, a sneer on my lips, snarl on my tongue. "You're not very nice. Lord Father says were supposed to be nice to our own kind. You're disobeying Lord Father. He wouldn't like that; I guess I should punish you." I open my mouth to mock the girl, even though her dark tone is very chilling, I feel anger and sarcasm fill me. But before I can say anything, I hear the sick sound of cracking bones, the slurping of blood, and the disgusting wet slap of flesh against liquid.

I don't even have time to scream before my body is let go of and I lifelessly hit the ground. Everything is fuzzy and all I can do is smell blood. My ears are ringing and everything is numb, no pain but the feeling of cold. I look down at myself, scared but I do it anyway, and I see a huge gaping hole where there should be a stomach and gut. I look up, no more color in my slurred vision, and I see Blondie's hand is covered in my blood. She's smiling evilly, _my_ blood all over _her_ face.

"Oops, looks like I punched you too hard." She shrugs as if it's nothing. "Oh well, if you die so easily, surely Lord Father wouldn't care too much for you." Blondie then turns and starts to walk away as blood dribbles from my open mouth and down onto my chin. I try to move my arm to reach out for her, I try to grab her, but I can't move. "I guess you'll just have to die like all the others." She announces, her only a few feet away from me now.

Something in my snaps, more into place then out. Imagines of memories I can't grasp play through my mind. I see the barrel of a gun, blood on streets, the full moon, my sister's face full of worry and concern, and then a familiar darkness. I feel something in me wake up, dormant until this point. I feel it stretch, I feel warm again, and I feel skin grow back along with organs and bones snapping into place. I feel myself float onto my feet, something stretching out behind me. All I can do is feel though, I have no control of my body, and my vision is still blurry. I feel flesh and blood in my hand suddenly, I hear Blondie's blood curdling scream, and I watch her body drop.

It feels like there is mist covering my eyes as I see the Elite's profusely bleeding body at my feet. I feel like tilting my head but I have no control. I look over to see that the saloon's doors are open, and I finally feel all of the gazes all around me. All of their faces are full of shock and surprise, yet there is no fear. I wonder why, but I don't have long to contemplate it, as something inside of me, the same thing controlling my body, lulls me to sleep. The last thing I see with my blurry vision is a feather, two actually. There on the ground, one is black the other white.

From that day on humanity's folk lore nicknamed me _Yellow Eyed Angel_.

**-X-**

_Journal Entry:__ None; Unknown date._

_Status:__ Half-conscious in some Umbrella Lab._

"Ugh." The bad taste in my mouth was the first thing I realized as I started to come back into consciousness. I clicked my tongue behind my lips, licking the roof of my mouth, and had the sudden urge to spit. My tongue tasted something like old dried beef jerky. _Yuck_.

But that's when something hit me, _hard_. My eyes were closed but I could still see images. It took a moment for me to understand what had happened to me, but then I was able to grasp the images with my mind. Memories flashing around like a Las Vegas light show in my head. I remembered that I was captured by that lying bastard John Lockheart, that I had met an Elite who didn't want to rip my throat out…_anymore_, and that the last thing I remembered was the shock collar on my neck sending so many volts through me I ended up unconscious.

The bad taste in my mouth was of my own nearly cooked flesh. _Double yuck_.

I tried to roll my shoulders, like I always do after lying somewhere for a long period of time, but my bare shoulder blades ended up hitting something cold beneath me. It wasn't the linoleum floor from earlier, when I fought that Ender, and it certainly wasn't the mattress I had fallen asleep on what could have been hours ago. It was cold, like touching ice, and it felt smooth. I reached out to feel it with my hand but I found I couldn't move my arm. Something else just as cold was keeping all of my limbs pinned down.

I want to admit right now that it takes a lot to scare me, Hell even being in an Umbrella lab doesn't scare me, but this; what was happening right now, scared me to the point my body was trembling in fear. I was also shaking 'cause of the cold, so my body was basically vibrating like a massage chair on steroids.

I blinked open my eyes, instantly my retinas burn and I close them again. There is a flood light on over my head, and from what little I saw it was pointing directly at me. So for me to actually see with that type of light pointing at me I have to allow my pupils to dilate to an extreme extent. For a normal person that would be easy enough, but it was a lot harder with my new eyes, and it hurt like a _son-of-a-bitch_.

I grit my teeth as I opened my eyes again and looked down, trying to see what I was lying on. To my utter terror, I was strapped down on a metal operating table. The light pointing at me the only one in the room, and because of that light making my pupils shrivel down to the size of a grain, I couldn't see through the veil of darkness. That wasn't even the worst of it, as I was strapped down to the table, unable to move at all, I found I was also completely nude. I haven't even seen my own bare skin for about a year now, let alone anyone else! This was also pretty terrifying, I felt vulnerable, and I hated that feeling.

I closed my eyes again after analyzing what I could; getting a reprieve from the massive migraine that was coming on in my head. Then I began to struggle, I tried to pull the restrains from my arms, but the metal was stronger than I was. This table was obviously made for infected specifically. Umbrella are the only people that'd ever have stuff like this. At that point in time I vowed I'd blow this last Umbrella base to Hell before I left.

A door opened then, my ears picking it up as I had to keep my eyes closed. I heard everything in the room with extreme precision. I heard the air vents, the shafts rattling as cold filtered air came in, I heard boards creak, the place old and falling apart. I heard leather bond shoed feet walking towards me in an arrogant stride, I heard the owner of those feet's heart pounding in their chest, not of fear but out of excitement, adding to that I heard his pants constrict too. I sneered with my eyes closed, a growl in my throat as I smelled far too many things I never wanted to smell.

"You know, if you wanted to play like that, all you have to do is put down these restraints." I said sarcastically, a snarl deep in my throat as I heard him get closer. The sound of a moveable table added to the noise, the wheels squeaking on the floor, instruments on it wobbling around. A deep and dark seeded laugh echoed in the room, those footsteps right next to me now.

"I don't think so Yellow Eyes. I'm not foolish enough to fall for that." I hear metal things knocking together, I smell chemicals, and last of all I smell virus. It's a strong smell, not bad or good to my nose, and really I sense it more than smell it. It's strong, so strong I kick out, as if I'm bucking like a skittish horse. The restraints keep me in place, but my heart picks up a beat, and I feel something inside me struggling. The virus inside of me recognizes the virus near me now and it knows that if injected into me, the virus inside me now will be at war with it. I sweat; both me and the thing inside of me fighting against my prison.

"Sshhhh," John soothingly pets my hair and runs his hands down the side of my jaw. I growl furiously at the movement. "I plan on sedating you before I inject you with this." I can hear the syringe rattle, the deadly liquid inside of it swishing back and forth and I know he knows I can sense what it is. However, his words and motions no more calm me than if a dog bit me on the ankle. "No worries." He added, his hands still on me, sliding further down to my neck.

"If you plan on keeping that hand I suggest you get it the fuck away from me!" I lash out, eyes still closed, I see the man with my other senses and try to bite him. I can't get close enough, my motions like that of a leashed animal. He chuckles, finding my struggles amusing.

"You are a strange one," His hand cups my jaw, his thumb rubbing my cheek. "And you're quite the beautiful find." His hand traces down again, rubbing the upper part of my rib cage, the touches teasing. "I'm so very lucky you collapsed on basically my door mat. You can imagine my surprise when I see you open your eyes and they just happen to be yellow! It felt like fate." I shiver as he begins to rub parts of my body he should never even see, let alone touch. I jerk around, but all he does is start petting my neck, trying to get me to be still. The really weird thing is, my body, like an angry animal, actual reacts to the touches and stills. This only makes things worse.

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that? I feel real sorry for David, growing up and having a sick fuck as a father." I spit at the man, and from what I can hear the wad of saliva lands on his lapel. He grimaces then marches around me, playing with something behind my head. I try and open my eyes again to see what it is, but I'm just blinded in the process.

"David? Oh poor David is no longer with us." The man says so nonchalantly it makes me sick. My stomach churns violently, my heart stops, as I think about poor young innocent David. The cute kid that listened to my stories and tales of adventure, the kid with big blue eyes that reminded me of my little sister's. I grit my teeth again, anger bubbling beneath the surface. "He found out what I did to you and threatened to turn me over to the BSAA if I didn't release you. Poor child, I had to kill him, he just wouldn't understand." John said with a shrug as if he didn't even care about his own son. The man spoke with no heart what-so-ever and just continued to play with the thing behind my head.

I felt angry sad tears fill my closed eyelids. I bit my bottom lip as I saw flashes of David's warm smiling face behind my eyes. He was the first person that had wanted to be my friend even while knowing what I was. He had the gift of a warm heart in such a dark era. He was so young and happy and at peace, he just wanted to have an adventure, just like all kids his age do. Yet, _yet_ this cold hearted creature that called himself the boy's father killed that poor innocent kid without even feeling a little remorse.

"_Hey, could you tell me about what it's like out there?"_

"_Maybe we could be friends?"_

"_Hey, wanna go play outside with me, there's this really cool playground in the middle of town?"_

"_So, you're really like those Elite guys? But you seem so different, so human."_

"_You're not a monster! What monster cries?"_

"_That's not it! It's just, Hope is so boring, 'ya know. Well, you wouldn't know but- I just want something exciting to happen!"_

"_Then what does that make you! They say the Elite can't stand humans! They say all Elite just obey the guy they call their God and that Chosen don't even leave their home base! So what does that make you? Why are there so many rumors about you, Yellow Eyed Angel?"_

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I bit back a sob. My anger bubbled under my skin, my sadness swirled around in the darkness behind my heart. It felt like I was being ripped apart, trying so hard not to show emotions in front of this sadistic man. I gulped down one last sob before exploding.

"YOU BASTARD!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, struggling ten times more now, just trying to hit the man that had walked back around to my front. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SUFFER!" I can't help the crack in my voice, tears slipping out from under my eyelids to slide down my cheeks. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM, YOUR OWN SON YOU SORRY FUCKING FUCK!" I wiggle and kick, and smash and whip, and try everything I can to hit the cackling man over me. "I'LL MAKE YOU BEG FOR MERCY AND FORGIVENESS THEN KILL YOU WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT LIKE YOU DID HIM!" My throat was starting to hurt now, it being dry from days without water. I had to stop or else I felt like I might die from fatigue. I couldn't put up a struggle anymore, or shout, or cry, I was just too tired. That's when I felt the needle under my skin, the bastard must have been playing with the sedative, and now it was constantly being administered to me on a drip. _Damn_.

I let my body go lax beneath me, my muscles just smoothing out like a blanket on a bed. I felt light headed and dizzy even though I wasn't moving. I felt so tired, yet I couldn't sleep, my virus was fighting back against it, I could feel it. It knew as well as I did that as soon as I was unconscious again he'd insert that other virus into me.

The man's hands were on me again, wiping away the tears I had cried from on my cheeks. "You are strange, to be like the Elite but so different, so emotional." John's voice was serious now, analyzing like a scientist's voice should be, but it did not lack his usual undertone of amused insanity. He kept stroking my neck, and the virus purred like a cat under such attentions. This scared me as I grit my teeth against releasing unknown noises. "I suppose it is because you are the mutt of the viral infected world." He admitted, his hand steadily stroking me no matter what he said. My eyebrows narrowed and a question formed on my lips, but I kept my mouth firmly shut, not wanting anything but words to come out, which I was unsure I could accomplish such at that moment.

John must have seen the questioning look on my face, so he decided to answer my unvoiced question. "The reason you have yellow eyes, the reason you react so differently to things than the Elite, is because you are a living cocktail of viruses. You have no one pure virus in you; you have multiple ones that have molded together inside of you, using your strange genes to come together as one." He explained, his tone so astonished, so admiring, it made my stomach churn. "It'll take the sedatives a moment before they are fully able to kick in." He stated, his warm hand disappearing from my neck, to instantly reappear some where he REALLY shouldn't be touching. I'm ashamed and overly embarrassed just thinking about it. "In the meantime lets have some fun."

I ground my teeth together, other noises wanting to come from my throat, that area of my body not being touched in such a long long time. Instead I vocalize something else. "What..-ahhh-…are you planning on injecting me with?" I try and ask seriously, but my voice and tone drop and raise with the way his hand moves. It sickens me, but I'm too tired to scream or fight back, so I do the next best thing, get answers.

"Oh, I thought it was obvious." He laughs, mocking me as if I'm an idiot. "It's the anti-virus tailored to your altered DNA structure specifically. If it works right, it should kill you." John explains more than happily, delightedness in his tone. My heart just drops, having nearly stopped three times now in the last few minutes. I was beginning to be exhausted; it was getting very hard for me to stay conscious.

"That is what we do here. We're engineering a weapon to kill all of the infected plaguing this world, you and that last Elite the only ones we haven't finished with or killed just yet." John stops what he is doing and a whine tries to wiggle its way out of my throat. Lockheart walks over to where my head is and leans down, his breath on my cheeks. "But you will both die, then we'll use the data we've collected from you to wipe your scurg off the map for good. Albert Wesker is the only one truly in our way, _well_, that is until we retrieved bits of A/W virus from your blood. I wonder, how did you become infected by the Wesker virus when no Wesker child was around you? That virus is none spreadable, Lord Spencer made sure of that. You're just so peculiar." He explained; the madman in love with his own voice. "Oh, you're asleep, oh well." I can hear him shrug as the syringe is in his hand again; and I cannot move as my physical body is asleep, I feel the needle under my skin as I do officially lose consciousness.

Oddly, my last thoughts weren't of anything I thought they'd be of. They weren't of my father or my sister, or even of David. My last thoughts before the plunger went down on the syringe with the needle under my skin was of Darwin, his smile, and how I broke the deal I made with him. An invisible tear rolled down my cheek as I felt guilt for leaving him to die in this hell hole all by himself.

'_I'm sorry; I the end, Truth wasn't Enough.'_

**-X-**

**End Note: **_Dun dun duuun! Cliff hanger! Will she die, what will happen to Darwin, how did Angel get infected with the Wesker Child virus? What did those images/memories Angel saw when she was dying by Blondie's hand mean? So many twists, but I'm not telling 'ya a thing! Sorry if this chapter left you scratching your head or if it wasn't what you expected. -_- Next chapter will probably be even better, but I'm still not telling you anything about it! _

_I know this chapter wasn't as twisted as I intended it to be, but I think that's a good thing!_

_So R&R please! Angel's life might depend upon it. XD_


	5. Dream's in your Eyes

**Author's Note: **_Okay, this chapter ought to clear up a few questions you guys have been having, but in doing so will create more questions. XD You'll just keep getting more questions until the very end. I already know how this story ends and all the in-between bits. I really want to finish it before my Summer Break ends, but no promises. It might end up longer than I'm planning. We'll see._

**Special thanks to the reviewers: **

_Fox Mew Brittany:_Yeah, I actually got really sad myself when writing that bit about David. But it's just more John Lockheart hate fuel. Luckily he's not going to last much longer, but then he's replaced by an even bigger bitch! XD Yay, horrible ain't it? Sorry you got confused; I tried to avoid confusion as much as possible. But no, Angel won't meet a Chosen until she reaches Wesker's lair, 'cause that's where they stay. Here; I hope this chapter came soon enough for you and calms your mind. ^_^

_BMD-X:_I hope that end scene didn't freak you out too much. I just wanted there to be the intenseness that is between Lockheart and Angel. But yeah, the real angst hasn't even started yet my friend. I suggest you strap on your seat belt, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. XD

_Toasty2006:_ I'm really glad you're enjoying it, and thank you! As for the drink, well, can't really help with that. XD But, really thanks, I hope you continue to enjoy the story, if not, tell me. ^_^ I'll do what I can.

** -X-**

**Dog Days of Post-Paradise**

**Chapter 4: **_Journal Entry 17; __"Dream's in your Eyes"_

_Journal Entry 17: __July 8__th__, 2015._

_Status: __Dreaming after death….._

_**This journal, in my hands, feels wrong. Everything feels wrong…**_

_I stop writing to look around. I see the trees filled with so much life around me, the green grass beneath me, the blue sky above me, the yellow vacation home behind me, and the beautiful multicolored ocean in front of me. Clouds float above me, puffed out and white, fluffy. Animals scurry around the forest near me, crickets and other bugs sing their songs among me. _

_I know something isn't right, I think, as I put my father's pen up and stare at the journal in my hands. It's my journal but I know it's not real, none the less I hug the sacred object to my chest as I feel the green grass beneath my bare thighs. I look down then, a butterfly on my naked knee, shorts hanging above my thin thighs, a muscle shirt that is not mine waving around my chest. I sigh contently and let my back gently fall back on the grass. I look up at the blue sky and smile, a warm feeling in my chest._

_This is obviously a dream and I wish with all my heart to never wake up from it. It had been such a long time since I had a dream instead of a nightmare. Matter of fact; it was bizarre, me having this peaceful dream. Something in the back of my mind nagged at me, that tingling feeling there again, but I ignored it._

"_Beautiful, isn't it?" A very familiar accented voice asks. I turn my head to see Darwin shirtless, looking up at the sky, his eyes a deep emerald green instead of red. He's smiling; freckles showing on his face that I'd never seen before. I watched him and took in how amazing he looked relaxed, muscular torso, handsome features, and no sour look on his face. He was lying beside me, arms behind his head as he looked up at the sky. "It's been so long since the sky was blue; I nearly forgot how beautiful it was." His voice was so calm, so happy, so alluring. I felt like melting in happiness at that moment as I turned to look at the sky again too._

_But when I did it had changed; now there was a beautiful full moon starry night glistening over the multicolored ocean in front of us. I watched the sky in wonder, not at all surprised by the sudden change, but in fact still very content with my surroundings._

"_See that?" I heard my father's deep voice then, and saw his tan finger point up at the sky. I turned my head again to see him, his glasses on over his stormy blue eyes. He's wearing a light blue button up shirt, hair lightly greyed. "It's the North Star." He pauses, taking a breath and crosses his arms over his chest as he lies in the grass beside me. "I know I owe you a lot, for taking care of your sister for so long, and I know it's just an old man's wish but…..Is it so much to ask that you come finish your studies at home? I know how much fun you've been having in Denver, but now that your sisters gone; it seems too quiet at home." My dad's tone is lonely sounding, and it rips my heart in two. So I do what I did when I was small; I put my hand over his and smile at him._

"_If you asked me to stay at home forever I would. I love you Dad. The last thing I want for you is to be alone." I admit and seeing him sincerely smile at me as he pulls me up into a hug makes tears roll down my cheeks. It's a memory inside a dream and I remember that that night Dad had invited I and Lily back home for a backyard barbeque. I remember the sad look on Dad's face when Lily had refused the offer because she stated she needed to study for Semester College exams._

_I guess I remember college being hard on me too, but I had never studied, I partied a little, but not much. Instead I spent my time hanging out, reading a good book with a friend, and going to my favorite coffee shop with free Wi-Fi as I played Elder Scrolls Online. I dated a little, got hit on more, but never found the guy that clicked with me. I ended up graduating when my four years were up, but I had gone to an Arts College, Lily was in Medical College, two completely different schools._

_But the look my dad gave me when he said he was lonely, well, I knew how that felt, so there was no way I was leaving him alone. So I stayed and finished my social arts studies online while at home. I don't remember what exactly it was I was studying per-say, nor do I remember what my job was, but in Dream Land none of that mattered._

_Next I found myself cooking pancakes, in my mid-teens again, my little sister bounding down the hall as she sung Christmas corrals as loud as she could. I joined her in singing as I made breakfast, my Dad never getting up early enough to make anything; he worked late hours at the garage. I made pancakes with Christmas tree chocolate chips, which Lily praised me for as she dug in._

_This Christmas was my favorite as I remember my dad getting me my first electric guitar, one with black and white angel wings on it. Next me and my dad had worked together to get Lily a great gift, an amulet that had a pendant to it. The pendant would open up and have a picture of the three of us together; laughing at the chocolate milk dripping down my chin after it came out my nose. A silly picture, but a memorable night._

_The necklace had a ruby in the center of the amulet, a rose carved into that, ironically Lily's favorite flower. The rest was made out of silver, just like the pen Lily and I got Dad that Christmas, the very same pen I use to write with in my journal._

_After that memory I found myself somewhere I didn't recognize. A mug of hot chocolate in my hands, my naked body wrapped up in a heavy blanket as I sat near a fireplace in a lodge. I kept my grip tight around the blanket, walking over to the double glass doors of the extravagate wooden lodge. I looked outside to see snow everywhere. I was back in Denver again, but in a time I don't remember._

_I walked back over to the refined kitchen area of the lodging and sat the mug down. When I did I looked down at my hand and noticed the Engagement ring wrapped around my finger. I recoiled, not remembering being engaged. I tilted my head and looked at the ring as if it was a creature devouring my finger._

_That's when the phone on the kitchen counter rang. I instantly grabbed it to pick it up, the muscle memory of the memory itself taking over my movements. "Hello?" I answered as the phone was on my cheek._

"_Sis! Thank God you're okay!" It was Lily on the other side, and she sounded panicked._

"_What is it? What's going on?" I picked up on her tone in a heartbeat, older sister instincts kicking in; I had practically raised her after all._

"_There's been an outbreak, here in DC! The presidents been killed!" She yelled, sounding out of breath._

_I felt my knees shake, my heart picking up a beat, my sweaty trembling hands grasping the phone too hard. Something inside me told me I knew what day it was, that I knew exactly what was happening. I looked up from the phone, horrified as I turned my head to the calendar on the fridge. I dropped the phone, knees buckling as I saw the date._

_May 8__th__, 2012. The beginning of Doomsday._

_Everything changed as I blinked again. I was in DC, a gun in my hand as undead walked towards me. "Stay back!" I yelled, frantic as I shook and trembled in fear, my sister behind me in a far worse state, losing her mind. "Damnit!" I fired a shot, the hordes didn't stop. "I said stay back!" Tears were in my eyes as I felt fear, true and utter terror._

_Oddly, it was not the undead that did me in. No, we survived the horde that attacked us thanks to the help of the BSAA and a government agent. They got everyone out of the city, everyone but me, 'cause I got shot in the head with a supposed stray bullet. It wasn't stray though, it was an Elite, one of the first, I know that now. Those red eyes, glaring me down, barrel between my eyes. Stray bullet my ass!_

_Lily screamed, the moon full, gun barrel in my face, and my blood on the street. Then I was encompassed by a familiar and welcome darkness, what I thought was death, but it was a coma. How could I not have seen this before? I was in a coma for two years! It all finally made sense! But now, how did I end up in an empty hospital, in an evacuated city, pumped full of virus, when I was left for dead? What the Hell happened to me?_

_Once again I found myself on that beach, near that yellow house I didn't recognize. The sky was blue, there was green grass beneath my feet, and Darwin was holding my hand, a look on his face that I couldn't read. I know if I did it'd scare me._

_He smiled and held my hand tighter, the crashing of waves our ambiance. His deep forest green eyes looked deep within me and I felt vulnerable. I didn't like it. "Angel." He called to me and I looked back at him from where I had turned my head. His hand was under my chin suddenly, his thumb rubbing my cheek, and I felt so calm again, no more sorrow floating around inside of me. "Angel, you need to wake up." He said and I shook my head, hiding my head again his shoulder. I never wanted to wake up, this was my Heaven, the real world my nightmare. "You're dying Angel; Lockheart's trying to kill you. You need to wake up now, or you never will."_

_I looked back into those pools of green, confused, my mind muddled as things and thoughts became slurred and blurry. I felt so tired all of a sudden, everything so wobbly and wrong. I felt like I was about to fall back, but Darwin caught me by the shoulders. "Angel!" He shook me, and all that did was make me dizzy. "You pathetic creature! Don't you dare squander our deal by dying!" He shook me harder, his voice getting louder as the sunlight above me became unbearable. "Please," His voice was suddenly soft. "I have faith in you."_

_Then Darwin did something I never thought he'd do. _

That's when I woke up.

**-X-**

I took in the longest deepest breath of air I'd ever taken in my life. My lungs filled up like a hot air balloon, then that air sputtered out of my mouth as I coughed up a large amount of blood. My head hurt, the worst migraine I'd ever had, my body ached like I had just gotten run over by a steam roller. My back popped, my body having shot up violently when my blurry watery eyes opened and I woke up. I rolled my shoulders out of mere habit, the shoulder blades popping, and I gripped the roots of my hair and pulled hard.

A tiny scream echoed in my dry and cracked throat, I felt involuntary tears running down my face, being caused by a mixture of sadness, loneliness, and from the pain radiating throughout my body in waves. I felt like I was on fire, the worst part actually being in my ass. I felt something poking me back there, my spine tingling in numbness and pain.

I blinked my eyes a few times before looking around. I was back in my containment cell, everything the same as before. I looked down at myself and saw the white jump suit stained with the blood I had just coughed up. I gripped my head and pulled my knees closer to me, my heart stammering inside of me, feeling like a fire about to go out, my body the same. I felt sobs wanting to force their way out of my throat, I just….missed _them_ so much.

"Angel!" I heard the sound of fists hitting glass, that voice accompanying them. I looked over and saw Darwin standing to his full tall height, hitting the glass that separated us, an odd look of concern on his face. His red eyes swirled as he looked at me and I felt my stomach do flips. "Are you okay?" He asked, his tone so very soft I barely recognized the voice as his own. He must have seen this process before, an infected dying, by the look on his face.

I shook my head, looking back at my knees as I hugged them to my chest. "No." I answered honestly, my vision watery again. "I am very not okay." My voice cracked; my pain showing like an open wound.

"Angel." Darwin's voice was as soft as a feather and as sad as me. He sounded like he felt regret, guilty, and I knew why. I refused to look at him though, while I cried. I hated being weak in front of him, and I didn't really know why.

I let my body go lax, so very tempted to just start sobbing right there and then. But suddenly pain like fire going up my spine started again but worse, that poke coming back, like a knife trying to stab through where my tail bone was. My pelvis twisted at an awkward angle, popping, I found myself lying down, screaming at the ceiling as things moved that should never move. It felt like my spine grew longer, then a knife came through my pelvic bone, making another whole there. I heard pop, flesh ripping, I smelled fresh blood, and then I felt skin heal over quickly.

"Angel!" I ignored the yelling as I took in quick rapid breaths, letting the moment of pain pass as I lay on that mattress. Sweat covered my body, aches here and there but the real pain gone. I reviled in the peaceful feeling, like getting something off your chest, as I laid there.

That's when I felt something, a swooshing, something flexing. I sensed it, felt it, and heard it. Something wasn't right, so I opened the eyes I had closed in pain to see what it was. When I did the color drained from my face, my yellow eyes widened, and I would have gasped should I have been able to breath.

There, above me, was a tail. A damn tail! It was mine all right, 'cause I could control it, every little move, every swoosh it made. The tail was black and made out of elongated spine bones. It glistened with not yet dried blood, and the tip was pointed, sharp, like the tip of a blade. It was about three feet long, a little under half my own height, and scary as shit. Something directly out of Alien Versus Predator, or really just classic Alien with Sigourney Weaver.

I sighed, letting my head hit the pillow below me, just one more thing to prove I'm a monster.

_The tail of a Devil._

**-X-**

It was hours of playing with my new mutated appendage, and of Darwin watching the tail go back and forth with curious fright, later that I finally broke the silence. The two of us had just been too enamored by the tail to speak.

"Can I ask you something?" I direct the question to my Elite bunk mate, who just watches my tail go back and forth, like a kitten watching a ball of yarn. His head shoots up from where it was sitting on his hand, him sitting on his own mattress. He makes a '_hmm'_ noise, as if to say 'go ahead' and I do. "Could you tell me a little bit about your past? Before Doomsday I mean." I ask as I myself watch the black bone tail now, swishing back and forth through the air. It still scares me and I hate it, yet I feel a certain affection toward it, it was _my_ tail after all.

"I do not remember." Darwin voices a statement I myself have said far too many times. I look back at him, his back now turned, his shoulders tense. He sounds sad and I can sense the dark cloud around him, I know how he feels. So in sympathy and companionship I go and sit against the glass again, feeling closer to him, in reply he gets up sits back to back with me. "The first thing I remember is God, waking from what felt like a long sleep. It is the same, as I have been told, with my other kindred. Things seemed so much clearer, surrounded by my kin, led by such a creator. Everything seemed…..black and white I guess. That is," Darwin paused, hesitation in his voice as he spoke in such a sad tone. I found myself feeling bad for him again, since he had not only forgotten but never remembered either. "I met you."

His last sentence caught me off guard, and I looked over my shoulder at his still tensed back. "Me?" I asked, head tilted as my tail twitched curiously. I was starting to think that my tail might be connected to my emotions.

"Yes, you are grey in a world I believed to be only black and white." Darwin admitted and I couldn't help but feel happy that I was what made Darwin think outside his tiny brainwashed box. I wondered if all the Elite were exactly like him, people that had forgotten who they were, people that wanted to remember and needed a reason to be again. This thought made me think that maybe there was hope for the Elite, without Wesker maybe they'd grow to be themselves again.

I smiled and my tail swayed beside me. I straitened myself and looked at my knees, hugging them as I sat back to back with my newest friend. The aching was gone by now, everything was clear again, and I still remembered my dream. Well, it wasn't a dream; it was my glimpse of Heaven. I had been dying after all. Lockheart's serum nearly killed me, but in the end the virus and my altered genes soaked up that virus with no problem. Just like everything else, it seems like my body could take any virus thrown at it.

_The Devil is more like God than any other creature._

I played with my bangs and took a deep breath, distant, thinking. I wondered if I should share some of my life to help out the poor soul who lost his. "Do you," I hesitate, looking up at the ceiling, the back of my head against the glass. "Would you like to hear a lullaby my dad taught me? It always makes me feel better." I admit, baring my soul to the other infected, hoping he doesn't throw it right back at me. I hear rustling behind me and there is a small pause between us.

"Yes, I would, very much." He says honestly, his voice still down but getter higher, happier, as if hope was being given back to him. I like to believe I was doing that, that just by me being here I was giving him hope. From what he says that's the case, but something tells me he had it in him the whole time. I take a deep breath and start then, my throat still a little dry my voice slightly cracked.

"_Been a long road to follow, been there and gone tomorrow, without saying goodbye to yesterday."_ Memories flash in my head; I close my eyes to see them. I remember my sister when she is a baby, her chubby red cheeks, her starry blue eyes. _"Are the memories I hold still valid? Or have the tears deluded them?"_ I can hear the silence of Darwin listening intently, everything not just calm but peaceful feeling as I sing. I remember my dad helping Lily walk for the first time, the fact she kept bumping her head on everything as she did. _"Maybe this time tomorrow, the rain will cease to follow, and the mists will fade into one more today."_ Memories of rainy days away from home come to mind, the rare calls from Lily while she's at college, even then being away from her felt so lonely, now it's like there's a hole in my chest. _"Cause the road keeps on telling me to go on. Something is pulling me; I feel the gravity… of it all."_ The song ends and I feel tears threatening to spill as images of my dad that night fill me, his face while looking up at the North Star.

I had missed them so much while I was in Denver. I know I was with someone then, that engagement ring on my finger, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't remember who it was. I let the peaceful quiet go on, being undisturbed as I hugged my knees and rocked back and forth on the soles of my bare feet. Whoever it had been he was most likely dead now, no reason to cry over someone who's been dead for a while.

So I take a long swallow, a gulp, downing the lump in my throat and I just let the feeling of Darwin's peaceful silence fill me. Being around him now, while there was no one else here for us, felt right. It hurts me to think that if we ever do escape together we'll have to separate, and I'll probably never see him again.

'_Never say never.'_ A voice in my head chimes in, it sounds like my dad and I smile. I know he's right, the world was a smaller place now, and neither of us could die. After this, because I know we'd escape, we'd meet again. On what terms was what I questioned.

"That was beautiful." Darwin finally said, his voice with an admiring smile in it. I hear shuffling again and I know he's turned to me, so I do the same and turn to him. "It…..it has made me remember something." I give him an astonished look, happy for him as he's grinning his face off. "I used to have green eyes!" He states excitedly and I pause, my brows narrowing. He had had green eyes in my death dream; I had already known he used to have green eyes. Maybe I did used to know Darwin before Doomsday, a passing glimpse maybe, I remembered once that I used to travel a lot for my job, so maybe then.

"That's awesome! I'm really glad you remembered something about your past." I say, covering the confusion in me with gleefulness as I smile back at the practically glowing Elite. He's just grinning and smiling, every bad emotion that used to show on his face gone.

"It is invigorating! Knowing I _was_ before God!" He shouted, still seeming brainwashed. But; _baby steps_. Being brainwashed was like being addicted to drugs; you take their supply then get them off of it slowly. Doing something like that to fast would be a shock to his system. If he could remember that then there was hope he could remember everything and realize Wesker wasn't God. Best part is, if he can do it, so can the other Elite.

I sigh and shake my head, a huge smile on my face as Darwin looks at me like a puppy just given a treat. He was really happy about remembering something, I was glad, but this was a bit too much, the poor guy was about to go super happy over this one little thing. Shows how happy he used to be, while under the watchful eyes of Lord Father God. It reminded me of Blondie, the crazy bitch that was the first Elite that tried to kill me. Just thinking about her nearly shattered my good mood.

"Ummm, Angel?" Darwin called, something else in his voice now, the opposite of happy. I looked over at him to see his eyes widening, breath quicken, his body reacting to fear and terror. He looked at me as if I could save him, as if I was the only one who could save him. I noticed the gas coming in through the vents in his room now, I heard it, and I could smell it. I turned and saw that same gas coming into my room too, my body doing the same as the Elite's as the gas entered my lungs. "Angel!" He yelled, putting his hand up to the glass. I put my hand to match his, seeing how much larger his hand was than mine.

"Don't worry," I coughed and he coughed, I tried to smile at him, our eyes never leaving each other's gazes. "I'm right here, I'm not leaving you." I state, hoping I can as my eyelids get heavy and I get tired.

The both of us sway, but we keep our hands like that as long as we can. Darwin looks at me, closely, something I don't recognize in his eyes. "You promise?" He asks like a frightened five year old, and I nod.

"I promise."

Then the both of us pass out.

**-X-**

I find myself on linoleum floor again. It's cold and plastic feeling, white and spacious. I come around a lot faster than last time, discovering that I was trapped in the same testing chamber as last time, the Ender's dead body cleared off of the floor and brains cleaned off the wall. The shattered two-way mirror is still the same, broken into bits with a fist shaped mark in the middle. I sigh as I get all the way up, into a full sitting position and look all over.

I hear a groan and turn to see Darwin lying behind me, curled on his stomach as if he had been kicked there. I snarl at the thought, thinking one of the Umbrella guards might have beaten him for the Hell of it. Well, they'd all be paying real soon, no mercies, no one left to live. After what I had been through, I was no longer a forgiving person.

"Darwin!" I yell whispered as I crawled over to him and nudged him. He rolled over and blinked his eyes at me. It seemed like there had been a bruise on his face, but it healed too quickly for me to tell. None-the-less he seemed fine, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up and quickly analyzed his surroundings. Before he could ask any questions I answered them. "We're in a testing chamber, I killed an Ender in here earlier, and they must have used me for testing data the _bastards_." I then quickly pointed to the two-way mirror, for-going any more nasty remarks. All though I did have a bag full of them. "We'll be able to hear them through that, the crack letting just enough sound in so that only our ears can hear it. I have a feeling we're about to re-enact Gladiator." I explained and Darwin just nodded.

"Yes, I understand." He said, looking at the mirror, pausing, and then looking back at me, a tilt with his head. "Just one question, what is Gladiator? Are you referring to the slaved human combatants during the Roman Empire, which would fight in coliseums for an Emperor's pleasure? If so, I highly agree." He questioned, as I forgot pop culture flew right over that Cuckoo's Nest head of his.

I sighed and shook my head, a palm on my face. "Yeah, close enough." I nodded then and got up, after I did I offered a hand to Darwin, instead of brushing it off like I thought he would he took it quickly, latching onto it. He seemed to actually feel up my hand, not willing to let go. I raised my brow at him and he just ignored the gesture as he refused to let go of our hand holding. I guess I can understand, God only knows how long he's been cooped up alone here, no contact with any of his own kind, and with us getting to know each other but separated by a sheet of glass.

I suppose he was interested to see how it felt to touch what was through the looking glass. I was Alice after all, post-paradise my Wonderland, and Albert fucking Wesker my white rabbit that had led me into all of this. The hole just kept getting deeper, Wonderland never ending in its complexities and dangers. I only kept going forward to catch that damn rabbit and cut his fucking head off. I guess now I could do that with this new tail I had acquired; just another thing that seems oddly normal in Wonderland.

"_I'm so glad you're both awake! Yellow Eyes, Subject Twenty Three, I was worried you were both dead."_ The voice of John Lockheart echoed, once through the two-way mirror, second over the intercom in the room. His voice was dripping with insanity, his brain unraveling like thread. He was folding, I could hear it.

I looked at Darwin, his vice like grip on my hand tightened. He seemed mystified and horrified by the voice, most likely that voice being what brought him here like me, the voice that tortured him while awake and asleep. The voice that from this day on we'd never forget, the voice we'd hate 'till the very end.

"Yeah about that," I pointed to the abomination coming out of my ass. It swayed and swished, cutting through the air like a knife. "That serum that was supposed to kill me, well, it seems not to have worked." I paused and shrugged, then turned a very smug face, having to get Darwin to let me turn that is, to where I knew Lockheart was. Through that two-way mirror, he sweated, I could smell it. "Instead of killing me it gave me a fucking tail, Lockheart! I'd like to see you try and kill me again! What's gonna happen next? Am I gonna grow cute kitty ears?" I mocked him, and I could smell the chemicals of rage fill him.

"_Here are your choices. Die, or kill the other. Whoever wins I promise them freedom. Good luck." _John stated quickly, curtly, as he left the microphone that consumed the sounds projected from the intercom. He walked around, from what I could hear, in the room on the other side of the mirror. He must have caught himself in some deep shit to be this freaked out.

I smiled cruelly. _'Hmm? I wonder.' _A thought occurred in my head, but I left it there for now to turn to Darwin. Now was our chance, an opening given to us, we had to take it! This was perfect! I finally got my hand away from the Elite, only to take his shoulders in my hands and look him straight in the red eyes. "Now's our chance Darwin! All we have to do is get these collars off!" I said, but something flickered in his eyes. He looked down in shame, his mind spinning cobwebs of doubt.

"Perhaps we should take the scientists offer, it will be nearly impossible for us to get these devices off our necks." Darwin motioned to his collar, putting his hand on it as he thought. I gaped at him, the light in his eyes vanished once again as he became unsure.

That's when I punched him across the jaw.

He reeled back, but not by much, his face flung to the right but he still stood, holding his jaw gingerly. He knew I could have thrown a MUCH harder punch if I had wanted to. All the same he glared at me, fire in his eyes again as I shook him by the shoulders. "Look at me you sorry _sonofabitch_, the Darwin I've been talking to for the last few days had pride, a damn spine at least! He wanted to rip every damn Umbrella agent in two for what they did to his kin! The Darwin I know would be more than eager to get out of this Hell hole, not bowing down to one insignificant madman with way more problems than a mother could ever love!" I yelled, trying to get through to him. From the way his facial expressions changed to guilt, then regret, anger, and lastly determination, I knew it was working. "So you listen up!" I pointed one finger at him, his expression strong now. "We're gonna do exactly like I promised! We're gonna get out of here, kill everyone in this place, then blow it sky high! So, I guess I only got one thing to ask you." He looked at me seriously, on the edge of his toes, waiting for my question. "Do you trust me?"

He smiled, a coy cocky smile that made me smile. His eyes flamed up brightly, that spark I saw the first time a thousand times brighter now. He shoved my remaining hand off his shoulder and looked me dead in the eyes. "Yes, we have been to Hell together, after all." He answered, teeth showing in such a grin he had.

I grinned back, the fire inside of me growing by watching his grow. "Then let's do the getting back part."

That's when I took a hold of both sides of Darwin's collar. He looked confused at first, and then he realized what I was doing and nodded to me. It was like pulling off a band aid, the collar sensed hands trying to pull it apart, but the shock waves just went into Darwin. So like pulling off a band aid, it hurt at first, but the faster you pull it off the less it hurts. I pulled on both sides of the collar and smashed it in two, Darwin groaning a bit but was okay. Those collars weren't designed for an outside infected to try and pull them off apparently, I guess they never thought of an Elite and Mutt working together.

I guess that's what I was, a _Mutt_. It's what Lockheart called me, it kinda fit. I was the _Strayed Mutt_.

"Now, do the same to mine." I told Darwin as I threw away the pieces of collar. He nodded and did the same thing I did, pulling the collar off quickly. It hurt, but only for a second. When my collar was gone I nodded to him. "Follow my lead, we'll look badass." I stated and Darwin smiled, an almost-laughing-smile. My new goal was to get _Mister Grumpy Puss_ to laugh now, _I mean later_, after seeing that.

That's when I started running. I ran straight at the two-way mirror, Darwin right at my side. I then jumped and in mid-air put out my leg. The two of us together cracked and shattered the whole thing, us kicking the mirror in just to land on our bare feet on the other side. Lockheart had still been in the room, talking to someone on his cellphone. He fell back, shocked by our sudden and explosive appearance. He dropped the phone and his hand went directly to the clicker in his pocket that went to the shock collars.

Before the man could blink I had picked him up by the front of his buttoned up lab coat. I pushed him against the wall harshly and he groaned out in pain. I put my face as close to his as I could without throwing up, and breathed deeply into his eyes. "No collars anymore Lockheart, I'm a stray mutt again." With that I flung him against the wall, throwing him to the other side of the room. He landed with a scream, something breaking. I walked over to him and quickly put my foot down right where his naughty bits were. I crushed what I could there and he screamed in a higher tone. "Darwin."

I turned my head to the Elite, he stood straight, discipline and training in his stance, almost as if he was military. I almost expected him to salute me. "I got this one, you go kill the rest. Then find the main control him, find out if the information about us was sent to any outside source, destroy it if you can and take note of where it went. Make sure to burn every file here, and see if you can spike any other Umbrella networks. Lastly; set the self-destruction on this place for about five minutes. Leave no stone unkilled or unturned, got it?" I commanded, feeling as if I was an officer. It felt kinda fun to give orders.

"Yes, I will meet you outside." And before I could blink Darwin was gone, I could already hear all Hell breaking loose in the hallways. I'd just sent a demon to do my dirty work, just call me _The Devil. _"Now," I turned my full attention back to Lockheart, literally busting his balls under my bare foot. "Where were we?" I asked coldly, evilly, cruelly. No mercy from me, only the pain he deserved.

"Just kill me, if that's what you're going to do!" He spat, blood coming out of his mouth, blue eyes blazing as he looked at me. No more insanity, just anger and pain, that's all a man boils down to. We're all the same.

"No," I shook my head. "Not like this." Quickly I picked the man up and drug him by the front of his coat. He was as light as a kitten to me, easy to carry, and I opened the door and lugged him down the white blood stained hallways. "You're a doctor after all." I said, smirking at Lockheart's confused face. "It's time for you to taste your own medicine." I taunted, just grinning as I carried him and he began to struggle.

"No! NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! JUST KILL ME! PLEASE!" He begged, terrified, horrified tears and eyes glistening. He struggled and struggled, kicking and punching. That's when I pushed him up against another wall, more blood came out of his mouth and he stopped struggling.

"HOW MUCH DID DAVID SCREAM?" I glared angrily at him, glared my yellow glowing eyes deeply at him. The Devil's anger coming out in me. "HOW MUCH DID HE BEG? Hmmm? HOW LONG DID HE SCREAM AND STRUGGLE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU DESERVE SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST THIS! I'M GOING TO SEND YOU STRIGHT TO HELL, AND PUT THE CHAINS ON YOU MYSELF!" I yelled, and when I was done I took a deep breath and pulled the man off the wall. I started carrying him down the hall again and all he did was stutter and twitch.

After a few minutes I finally found one of the testing rooms, _operational room_, _torture room_. I pushed the doors open and walked in, turning on the lights. The next thing I did was harshly drop Lockheart down on the operating table and strap him down. After I was sure he wasn't going anywhere I went sorting through the many viruses kept in the cabinets in the room.

"I'm not the one who runs this lab you know." A very tired and dry voice cracked, John being on the spot seemed compelled to talk, and I listened. "She's an even bigger bitch then," John coughs up more blood and I continue to sort through vials. "If you want someone to torture go to her." He slightly pleads, as if he was innocent. "She lives in Hope just like I do; she owns the biggest fucking mansion there. The bitch." He seems very un-fond of the woman, whoever she was. "She's controls all of this, she'll have all of the copies of the files here." I admitted, hoping it would get him off the rack.

I find the vial I want and put it into a syringe, oddly familiar with the procedure. I walk over to Lockheart, dead pan, as he wiggles and squirms, terrified. "You act as if you're innocent in all of this." I state seriously, flicking the needle, making sure there is no air in it. He trembles, no excuses on his tongue. "Thanks for the info though, I'll be sure to tell her you sent me before ripping her to shreds." I smile as I slide the needle into his arm.

"NOOOOOOO!" He screams at the top of his lungs as the liquid enters his skin. He keeps screaming, his voice starting to gurgle, his body started to change. My tail flicks back and forth in interest as I watch his body blow up like a balloon, after I step back. It's odd looking, as if someone was filling his body with hydrogen. His eyes pop out first, then blood splurts out from his mouth, the screaming coming to an abrupt stop as his tongue launches out to the other side of the room. His body is half the size of the walls now, veins popping out on thin flesh. Suddenly there's a pop and gurgle as flesh is all over the room, blood and skin strewn everywhere. Now where the rest of his body still lay strapped to the table, there was a bunch of larva sized parasites feeding off his insides, the remains.

I grimaced. "Eeeeow." Bad thing was I had injected him with a vial of my blood. "Uh." My eyebrows narrowed as I leaned over to observe the rest of John Lockheart, I shrug, letting the issue go quickly. "Burn in Hell for eternity, you bastard." I state as I begin to wipe myself off from where some of John's gooey flesh had gotten all over me. I took some of the towels and napkins I could find in the room and cleaned myself off as thoroughly as I could.

After I was done with that I headed toward where I thought John might have kept my things. I followed the scent of old journal paper and silver for a while, and then I opened the doors to a large lounge area. I went in and found all of my old stuff in a large plastic box; it was marked 'burnables'. _'Fuck'em all!'_ I thought as I slowly and meticulously took off the dirty white jump suit and put back on all of my old stuff. My cloak was a very welcome feeling to have around my shoulders. I even took my backpack, which looked unsorted through, and found my journal. I opened it and found my cherished picture of my dad and sister in it. Tears pricked my eyes as I smiled down at the picture. I kissed it and said lightly: "Almost there Dad."

As soon as everything was back in place, shoes on, gun on my leg, knife on my thigh, and so on, I went back out of the room. I followed one last scent that interested me. I looked down at my watch and wondered how long I had. Surely Darwin was still out slaying Umbrella goons. I flexed the sunglasses on my nose as I walked around a few more halls, then I finally found it, the main computer, the one I was after the first day I came here.

There was only one thing I wanted from this computer; every piece of information on Albert Wesker.

_That damn White Rabbit._

**-X-**

I still had my pen out, writing down notes here and there about the information the computer had given me on Wesker, as I walked up to Darwin. He was outside, standing amongst the desert sand of the wasteland, something I never thought I'd miss. He was wearing a black beret on his head, a styled uniform on his body. He looked commanding in all black and leather boots, I'd give him that. I finished writing just as I was an inch away from him, putting my pen and journal up then.

Suddenly the ground quaked underneath us, fire shooting up the hole that used to be the front door entrance to the labs. Darwin stood there proudly, arms crossed, stance at the ready, as the both of us rode out the waves and watched the fire. When it was done he turned to me, such a fierce spark in his eyes again.

"I don't think I'll be heading back home." He admitted, his voice sincere and serious. "The world is not so black and white anymore; Devils and Gods seem like mere myth and legend now." He pauses and I watch him as his eyes grow distant. "I think I'll go looking for others like us, remembering but lost, lonely and forgotten." He looks back at me again, fondness twinkling in his eyes with my reflection. "I will do as you have done to me, save them."

I smile and pull my bangs back, my hood not over my head. We just look at each other for a while, not sure how to part or continue. It felt like a life time ago I was snarling at this Elite, reluctant to team up with him, now I'm reluctant to see him go. I look at him, dust and sand whipping by us, the sun over our heads. "How do I find him?" I suddenly ask, the question forming on its own.

"Who?"

"God." I answer, and Darwin's face drops. He looks away, brows narrowed, squinting into the sand. He is hesitant to tell me; somehow I sense he's worried I might get hurt. He thinks he's protecting me.

"Follow your instinct." He answers, still looking away. "All infected feel his presence and are pulled toward it. You will know that pull when it happens." He explains, putting his hands in his pockets, he stares off into the actual distance, thoughtful. I know I have felt that pull many times before, north the urge would say, but I did not want to admit that to Darwin. "What will you do now?" He asks, his red eyes upon me again.

"Find my dad." I reply curtly. "Make a side trip to Hope first though, then find Wesker and avenge every innocent person he ever slaughtered with his damn virus." I admit, feeling strong about my decisions and purpose. I was driven and without that drive I would have already been dead. My journey was finally nearing its climax though, now with the information I had I knew where to go to kill Albert Wesker.

I think our chat is over, so I begin to walk away, heading back to Hope City. But before I get far a hand is grabbing my arm.

"Wait." Darwin called suddenly, and I turn to him as he clings to me. "There is something else I would like to say." He says, eyes looking down to the ground as I turn to him.

"Wha-" I am suddenly cut off by lips being on mine, that familiar feeling in my mind. This is exactly what Darwin had done in my death dream. _Kiss me_.

My tails swishes back and forth quickly behind me, like that of a happy dog's. The kiss is a lot slower this time though, sloppy even, the both of us out of practice. But it had passion behind it, sparks, like fireworks. But before I can reach out to bring Darwin closer he's gone. My hand drops to my side, the Elite out of sight. My lips still feel warm, tingling.

_And with that I'm alone again._

**-X-**

Getting into Hope City was a little harder this time, but still very easy. I knew how to get in and out of places just by being in the shadows. It comes with the territory of trying to avoid ever being noticed. I have to hide my tail this time though, under my cloak and down one of my pant legs, it is very uncomfortable but bearable. I find the large mansion John was talking about in the middle of town. I feel confident enough, actually, to go striding up to the front door in the middle of the night and ring the doorbell.

'_Yeah, real badass.'_ I roll my eyes at my own thoughts and notice a gold plaque on the door. It says; Residence of Elnore Lockheart. Things click then, Elnore was a part of John's passcode into the computer, she was also apparently his ex-wife, David's mom, and she kept the name. Wow, that was some pretty bad mojo.

"Coming!" I now hear a familiar sing song voice heading toward the door and I tilt my head in confusion. But when the door is answered, the woman on the other side poking her head out, my jaw falls to the floor, my eyes wide, breath lost. Everything that had clicked springs right back out of place and yells, _fuck you_!

"_Mom_?"

**-X-**

**End Notes: **_Ta-da! Another cliff hanger! Pretty surprising, right? Well you haven't seen the half of it yet, but stuff is starting to fall into place. It's maybe three or four chapters, maybe less, until Angel finally meets Wesker. Then there will probably be three chapters and an epilogue after that._

_This was officially the hardest chapter to write! It took me forever! But then again I was playing Skyrim and Mass Effect 3 most of the time. XD Along with watching shows I'm catching up on after having three months without TV._

_Okay, now I have a question for you guys! I'm going to have Angel run into more RE characters next chapter. Who would you guys like to see?_

_R&R PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE!_


	6. Meeting People

"**ANOUNCEMENT!"**

_**I am hosting a contest!**_

_The contest will be for either fan art or fan fiction of this story. It doesn't have to be about Angel but just some part of this story._

_Fan art:__ If you win and you entered a piece of fan art the fan art you created will become the official cover of the story and you will get to direct your own chapter._

_Fan fiction:__ If you write a fan fic over this story it will become an official chapter of this story, making it canon for the Dog Day series. Or if you don't like that idea you will get to decide a part of the secret ending. The choice is yours, if you win._

"I got the idea for this because I thought it would give me A LOT more inspiration! Lately I've had a harder time finishing chapters, the reviews have been awesome, but I want to see what you guys can come up with! You don't have to enter, it's completely optional, I just thought it would be fun. The contest will last for several weeks, so you have plenty of time to finish any project. Good luck!"

**-X-**

**Special thanks to the reviewers!**

Fox Mew Brittany

BMD-X

Ultimolu

Toasty2006

midnight84118

Yue.40

_I am seriously feeling the love! Thank you so much guys!_

**-X-**

**Dog Days of Post-Paradise**

**Chapter 5:** _Journal Entry 18; "Meeting People"_

_Journal Entry 18:__ July 9th, 2015._

_Status:__ Enraged and frustrated…._

_My mom is a bitch._

It was all I had time to write before there was a magnum pointed at my head. I swerved to avoid the bullet, it going right past my head, my eyes following it. Before my mom could blink the door was closed behind me, my pen back in my pouch, journal back in my pack back, and her magnum in my hand as she lay on the floor; surprised. _Uh?_ I seem faster now; it must have been another side effect of the new virus pumping through my veins. _'Cool.'_

"Stop!" Elnore yelled, her hands up as I aimed the gun at her head. She's sneering at me, angry she couldn't stop me, couldn't control me. She sat up and the barrel of the gun in my hands follows her head slowly as she moves. "You wouldn't kill your own mother, would you?" She asked all innocently now, batting doe eyes at me.

I snarled, lip curled up, as I glared at her and cocked the gun. "Yeah, I would." I growled, closing the distance between us, now the cold metal of the gun was touching her temple, her hiding the fear inside of her with minor rage. I knew the eyes of a liar and her's were full of lies, so dark and twisted. "How long have you been Umbrella?" I asked, itching to pull the trigger, but there were just some things I needed to know, to have closure.

"Since I was twenty, right after graduating college." She admits, her voice staying strong as she had her hands raised in surrender. But I knew better, there was a small dagger sheathed on her inner thigh; she was just waiting to pull it. Unfortunately for her I'd already disarmed her, the dagger under my belt loop.

"You bitch." I growled, pulling the hammer back on the gun, squeezing the trigger lightly. All those years, it had all been a lie, I knew it! She was never our mother; she was just some scientist whore that made my dad cry! I felt a mixture of disappointment and anger curl in my belly.

"Wait! Wait! WAIT!" She started shouting frantically. I stopped, a smile on my face. All you have to do to get info out of people like her is to make them piss their pants a little, and what do scum bags value most? Their own selfish greedy lives. I stopped pulling the hammer of the gun back and waited as her breaths came out in pants. "I'll tell you where your father is."

Those words stopped me dead, superior grin gone from my face. _'Dad? She could tell me where my dad is! After all of this time I could finally find him! Finally!' _I imagined seeing him again, making him smile again, hearing his laughter again, and with him would be Lily; the little sister that was almost like a daughter to me. "Where?" I demanded.

"Let me up and put away the gun and I'll tell you." She requested, her words slow, as if she was talking to an animal. At this rate I was a wild beast, her in my way, and what do beasts do to things in their way? Rip them to shreds. I do though; I let her up, being against my better judgment. I keep the gun though, as she gets up and dusts off her expensive stripped one piece suit. "Well," She reaches for the dagger and finds it's not there, her eyes widen and I dangle it in her face. She swallows and goes on as if she didn't just realize her Plan B was stolen from her before she could even notice. "Yes, well, _ummm_; your father's in a BSAA refugee camp north from here." She finally explained, still standing as she eyed the gun in my hand warily.

"Good, what else?" I ask, my voice dead serious and scary. My face blank, sunglasses hiding my eyes as she watched me closely.

"What else is there?" She was hiding something; I could hear it in her voice. My guess, or hypothesis, from how she had been acting so far, was that she didn't do business with the public, was some hot shot manager scientist that hid behind closed doors. She let others do the dirty work while she got off scot free.

I glare darkly at her and lowered the sunglasses on my nose, I got the wanted reaction, terror written on her face. I smirked again; sometimes it was too easy to scare the uninfected. I push my sunglasses back up my nose again and let my poker face resurface. "You had me locked in a lab, experimented on by your psychotic ex-hubby, and ordered me dead." I hissed every last word, rage dripping from my mouth behind my blank face. I was mad, _no_, furious. How long was I locked up? A month? And she knew the whole time. "You damn well better have more," I point the gun directly at her again. "Or I'm gonna blow you're fucking whore head off."

Elnore panics, there's something behind her eyes, but she really doesn't want to give it up. From how I can see the wheels turning in her head I can see her thinking of a cover. She wants to give me a different story, something that will distract me. It won't work, it might have two years ago, but two years ago I hadn't survived the hardest cruelest wasteland life had to offer. I had majorly changed from who I used to be, so much so asking what my name was had completely slipped my mind.

"You were an experiment from the beginning." While I had expected a cover story of some kind, her throwing that my way was not what I expected at all. I give her a **'WHAT'** look, my face all scrunched up. I felt emotional pain from that, knowing my life was some twisted lie, but I also feel a bit betrayed. It just seemed so much like a lie, what she says, but I know it isn't, deep down. That didn't mean I didn't want it to be a lie. Elnore doesn't look at all dismayed, her arms crossed, she's simply stating facts.

"Your father's blood line was known to have the perfect genes for testing viral infections; I was hired to bare offspring with him, mixing my interesting recombinant DNA with his adapting genes. You were the main part of that project, your sister unexpected therefore not a variable. The project took a dive in funds right after you turned five though, so I had to wait until you were older, when we got the funding back, to try and bring you back to the lab." The way the woman states all of this, it's so cold hearted, I wonder if she even realizes what she's telling her daughter. I wonder if she realized that she just yanked the rug of reality right out from under my feet.

I feel myself trembling, a mixture of feelings flowing throughout my system. I look at the floor, expensive hard wood covering, and glare at it. I know if I look up, look at her, and take in all of what she's saying I might cry. It's all too much, my entire world, or the world of my past, was just crushed. The gun lays limp in my hand, a fist forming in my other. I didn't know how to feel about all of this.

"You'd turn your own daughter into a test subject?" I ask, still not looking up, my teeth grinding against each other. My voice was deep, dark, frustrated, the fist at my side tightening. I didn't know how to feel about all of this. She was on thin ice, poking my inner beast with a stick.

"Yes, you were never really my daughter." A stab to my heart, I bled. "But your outburst in the court house surprised me, so I decided I'd just have to take you at the perfect moment. However that never arose, the world going to shit and everything." The dagger in my heart was twisted; she said these things so nonchalant, as if it was nothing.

But it was a big fucking deal to me! Had the world still been in one piece right now I'd still be a monster, stuck in a cage, poked at, cut open, analyzed, by my own fucking mother! I felt angry hot tears slide down my cheeks, my vision blurry. I felt so betrayed, so stomped on, crushed, as if I was nothing but a bug.

I raised the gun to her again, she saw my tears, how the gun trembled in my grip, and grinned the most wicked grin I'd ever seen. She thought she'd won, that I was too emotionally unstable to pull the trigger. Bull shit! If anything it was getting harder not to kill her; with my own hands!

"Did you infect me with the Wesker virus!" I demanded an answer, getting closer to her as she took steps back. My tremble began to calm, but my rage fueled me forwards, the gun straight in my hands. I was yelling now, loud enough for there to be an echo in the large extravagant house.

She quickly got a confused expression on her face, and then as soon as it came it went, replaced with an evil smirk. She shook her head and said nothing, so determined to not tell me something. But it wasn't gonna be that easy. I had her cornered now, against the banister of a staircase. "Tell me!" I yelled, my voice cracked but was still very loud and enraged sounding, echoing throughout the house. Her thin ice was about to break. "Fine." I said calmly, taking a deep breath.

I stepped back, poker face again. This confused her, Elnore thinking I was giving up, she stepped forward. The ice shattered. Before she could blink both her knee caps had been blown off with magnum rounds, stripping her entire knees of flesh, her legs connected by strings of muscle. Blood went everywhere, even all over me, as she was lying on the floor, screaming, tears in her eyes. She tried to grasp at her knees but barely moving pained her, and by how much she was screaming, she was in a lot of pain.

As she wallowed in her agony, tears coming to her eyes, I stepped around her, kneeled beside her head and gripped the roots of her blonde hair. I pulled her head up to look directly at me, her light almond gold eyes staring up at me, she screamed more as I pulled, and as she screamed I put the barrel of the magnum in her mouth, silencing her. I looked down at her and the sunglasses slid down my nose.

I glared at her with my yellow eyes, and she had the look of a deer caught in the headlights. This woman was a calculating bitch, analyzing her opponents, knowing their weakness, using mind games on them. She calculated me to be kind, caring, and sensitive. She calculated me to be the kind of girl to have a soft spot for her mom, so that I couldn't possibly shoot her. She calculated that I was too weak to pull the trigger.

She calculated dead wrong.

I pulled the hammer back one last time as she looked at me with terrified golden eyes. "You thought I couldn't shoot you, didn't you?" I asked calmly, not expecting an answer as I kept my face blank. "You have no idea how many people I've killed; taking your life would not only be easy for me but a pleasure. Ridding this world of one more piece of rot. I'm just cleaning up." I say simply, turning the tides. Now I had the upper hand physically, while she had had the upper hand mentally.

I jerk a little harder on the roots of her hair; the scream she emits is muffled by the hot metal down her throat. "Now this time you're gonna answer like a good girl, or I'm just gonna blow your head off anyway." I state, my voice completely calm, the wash and confusion of emotions gone as I vent them through causing this woman pain.

I take the gun away from her mouth and she has to pant a few minutes before she can talk through clenched teeth and pain. "I know who killed you." She explains, no more mind games up her sleeve.

"Who?" I ask, dangling the gun over her forehead, making sure no more lies drip out of her venomous mouth.

"He," She had to take a breath. She let her body down from where she had been propped up on her elbows and breathed; I let her hair go as she does. She closed her eyes and left them closed as she spoke. "I had worked with him only once before, he was a bit of an enigma. He walked and talked as if he owned every single Umbrella lab out there. He wore white suits and sunglasses all the time, but he was the best I'd ever seen. He sent reports into our lab about you, how you were bonding with multiple viruses at once. He sent those reports to us from a hospital in DC, and from what I heard you were shot and left for dead by the last BSAA agents heading south from there. What I couldn't understand is why he let you go after finishing with his experiments." She said each word carefully, trying to catch herself in every lie. It was so hard for her to tell the truth.

"His name damn it!" I yelled, losing both my composure and patience. It seemed like she was trying to trick me into something, not talking fast enough, trying to keep me here. Either that or her brain was scrambled from all the pain she was going through.

"Alex Smith! I swear that's all I know!" She opened her eyes, voice pleading. She actually propped herself up again to beg eye to eye with me, gripping my cloak tightly. "Now, please! Let me live!" She begged, tears in her eyes, acting sweet, innocent, afraid, like a child.

I sneered and stood, slapping her off of me. How disgusting, sick rot begging to stay on the apple. That reminded me of David and fueled my hate even more. I watched her closely as I put the magnum back in my belt loop. I walked away from her, tears in her eyes as she kept begging. I completely ignored her. I walked down one of the hallways in her huge house, following my nose. It didn't take long to find her office room slash lab. I could smell the virus, the chemicals, and even the printer ink.

I walked up to her desk; there was a laptop and printouts about me and Darwin. I took some of the chemicals from her lab and spilt them all over the room, destroying the computer and files. Then, for simple pleasure on my part, I took out the zippo lighter I had had for a while now from my pocket, rolled the flint strike under my thumb, and dropped it as it lit. The room went up in a poof of flames before even I could blink. I smiled, the feel of all that darkness burning, it felt good. But the one thing that came to mind first was that Darwin was safe, the files on his DNA gone.

I watched everything burn for a moment longer before going back to my mom, her still lying there in pain, bleeding out. She looked up at me, that begging expression still on her face. I rolled my eyes and aimed the gun at her head again. She was tearing up; hoping to hit a soft spot in me, but my heart was turned to stone a long time ago.

"I'll be nice enough to give you a choice." I state, smiling and feeling like laughing about what I was about to say. She perked up, hope in her eyes. I couldn't wait to see that flame of hope flicker out completely. "Either die now or burn to death in a matter of minutes, your choice." The hope fell from her face, replaced by that look of pure doom and devastation. More tears came. She started begging more and crying like a child about to be spanked, I sneered, and stomped on one of her destroyed knees. She screamed. "Choose now, or I'll choose for you!" I yell in her face, spitting at her.

"You wouldn't do this! You were such a sweet girl! You wouldn't kill your only mother!" She tried one last mind game on me, trying to tap into something that didn't exist in me anymore. She screamed, cried, yelled; everything to try and get me to stop, but none of it worked.

"To me I've never had a mother, and even if I had, that sweet girl I used to be died when some sicko pumped me full of a virus and turned me into a monster." I state, dead pan, as I level the gun to Elnore's head. Her breathing heavy now, about to faint in fright, never having had someone but me point a gun at her head before today. "Say hello to your hubby for me, _no_, tell him: 'Fuck you, I told you I'd rip her to shreds'." And with that there was a giant bleeding hole in the middle of Elnore's head, her body roasting long after she's dead, as her huge mansion goes up in flames.

By then I was on my way, heading north, heading toward Dad.

**-X-**

The BSAA refugee camp was farther north than I thought, miles away from Hope City. I was tired though, the hot hateful rays of the sun bearing down on me as I actually walked down an old black top road. My hood was up, my tail out again, a newly acquired magnum stashed under my belt loop.

It was mid-day, the sun completely over cast, and no clouds in sight. Just desert sand, gray skies, dead cars, and old tar made roads as far as I could see. Originally a day like this would be Hell for me, but just two days earlier I had escaped from a real hell hole, so today was moderately peaceful for me. I was more than thankful to have my freedom back; being a Wanderer was the best to me, even on days like this.

I looked back up at the sun, my eyes hurting even with my sunglasses on. I pulled the hood over my head further, and tried to wipe off some of the sweat on my brow. My feet hurt, my muscles ached, my stomach growled, and I had a migraine. I needed to rest, not having truly slept or eaten for several months. Mostly though, I needed water, and my canteen and bottle were empty.

To tell the truth, I was about ready to collapse before I saw an old, intact, restaurant building. If I remembered correctly, it was once a large Wendy's. The large and tall sign with the red head on it still slightly standing. I smiled, actually craving a chocolate malt and chilly cheese fries suddenly. It was a few more yards away, but I just barely made it, opening the double glass doors of Wendy's.

I sighed, the temperature of inside the building considerably cooler than it was outside. I started to relax, letting the coolness wash over me, the dripping of old pipes echoing throughout the place. But as soon as I sniffed the air I tensed. I could smell the virus, a very powerful infected. My body went ridged, and as soon as my hand was about to land on my pistol, a noise drifted up to me.

"Meow!"

I looked down and there, right in front of me, was a fuzzy orange kitten. I smiled, kneeling down to her, a fuzzy feeling in me surfacing. I got on my knees and started petting the kitten, and instantly she purred, her cute little yellow brown eyes sparkling and happy. I just couldn't stop smiling as I watched her, her cute little tail, adorable little nose. It'd been a long while since I felt this kind of feeling inside my stomach, only the memories of my sister when she was a baby making me feel like this.

"Lena." A cracked and dry voice, most likely that way from lack of use, drifted from around the corner of one of the walls. Footsteps echoed, and then a young figure wearing a tarp around her shoulders emerged, her eyes glowing green. I looked up, a hand still petting the kitten, to analyze the girl in front of me. She was what I smelled, another infected.

We just watched each other, gazes not drifting away, eyes locked. The kitten meowed again, loudly, trying to get my attention and affection. I smiled and looked down at her, petting her fuzzy warm and smooth orange fur. This infected, Elite or Chosen, was the caretaker of such a young and helpless animal. If that was true, surely she was not a monster like the others?

"You know I had a kitten like her once, but she was a he, and I named him Leonardo. I even made him wear a red beret like the Leo in Assassin's Creed two. I really liked Leo, always wanted to meet the real Leonardo da Vinci, of course I have no time machine." I state, just trying to break the ice, test the waters, and see if she'll still attack even if I'm a friendly.

The girl just watches, analyzes, moving slowly, never saying a thing. But her movements provide words, her shoulders relax, her stance less tense, but she still seemed ready if things got hairy. Hey, in this world, that's as good as things get. I could sense everything she could possibly say, so I knew we were good.

The girl goes and sits down against a wall in the same vicinity as me and the kitten. I pet her one last time before getting up and dropping some of my things on some carpet that had seen better days. Leaving my back pack, I mark the space as mine, and I sit Indian style, stripping other things from my body so that I could stretch out and lay down. It still felt strange, lying down on my tail, but it was easy to adjust and get used to.

I lay down, my gun holster, knife, magnum, cloak, sunglasses, and pen pouch laid out all around me. I turn my head to watch the kitten, it begins to play with loose threads coming out of the carpet and I smile. I then turn my eyes to the other infected, she's watching the kitten carefully, protectively, but still seems to smile at her playfulness. I feel lonely lying by myself, so I walk over to the kitten and sit down beside her, it does not go unnoticed that the other infected watches me closely.

"So," I start, my hands playing with the kitten. "You said her name was Lena?" I try to get the infected to speak, so I could start a conversation, but all she does is nod. I feel like pouting, the quiet and tenseness in the room driving me nuts. "What's your name then? People call me Angel if you're interested." I say, looking over at her. I see the scars, not the physical, but the mental and emotional ones left on her by the world, through her eyes. She just glances at me, not saying a word, as if she was expecting me to be telepathic. I sighed.

I stood up again, and the girl, wrapped up in a brown tan tarp, auburn hair sticking out, watches me as I walk past her. I look for the leaking pipes in the building; I nearly trip over the girl's stuff as I look. She has a blue hiking back pack, a sword, a gun, a shotgun, and her own bottle lying out. I analyze her weapons, still coated in blood, warm, fresh, and I feel for her. The slightly dried blood all over me protests against such sympathy, I didn't kill to survive; I killed for the pleasure of watching my own mother die by my hands. Guilt wraps around my heart like a snake and I nearly choke.

Only the thought of the fact I saved Darwin too, was the only thing keeping that guilt from swallowing me up. Even stone feels the after effects of rage, no matter how well placed it was. I shake off the feeling to find the dripping pipe. I find it in the back, behind the register counter, in the kitchen. The pipes dripping with condensation and it's created a puddle of what looks like clear water below it.

I take the canteen from my pocket and fill it up, taking a few swings in between, and re-filling it along the way. The water was cold and clean, or as clean as floor water gets, but there were no complaints from me, I was super thirsty. As long as it wasn't contaminated I was good.

I fill my canteen up and walk back up to the front of Wendy's, where Lena the kitten is asleep on Unknown infected's lap. It was cute, the orange fur ball being so closed to such a closed off girl. I sit by her, and watch the kitten's chest rise and fall. The girl is unfazed by my closeness, and I sit shoulder to shoulder with her. "It's amazing, that something so small could be so strong to survive in a world like this." When I say this I think of both the young girl and the kitten, and I just wonder at them.

The girl hums in agreement and I look eye to eye with her again. "Could you at least tell me what they call you? I promise not to tell anyone else, it's just so lonely, to feel and sense someone so close, but to know they're so far away." I say this sincerely, looking at her, and she looks taken aback, as if she thought no one would ever feel the same way as she did. She nodded though, looking away again.

"They call me Outsider." Her cracked voice replied and I smiled, like me she had no name, just adopted any one that called to her. We were kindred spirits, stuck in such a cruel world, where the sky was grey.

**-X-**

Outsider didn't talk at all after that, but I spoke for the two of us, telling her about my dad and sister, how I was going to go kill Wesker and avenge the people's whose lives he destroyed. The girl gave me a look, one that spoke a thousand words, as I spoke of my mission. I think she supported it, as after that night, the both of us sleeping in the run down Wendy's, the next day when we departed she gave me a thumbs up and disappeared south, down that desert road.

I felt good, refreshed, after finding out that infected like Outsider existed. So I put my hood back up, sunglasses on my nose, as I followed that road north, heading to find my dad. My mission had just become one person more important. Now I traveled down this desert road for not only myself but for Darwin and Outsider too. So that one day we might all be free again.

**-X-**

The tar road didn't last much longer north. It seemed to just fade away the farther I went, until there was no more of it in sight, the same for the cars too. I wondered what could have been powerful enough to wipe the black off of the black top road. Really, something told me I didn't want to know.

I actually had to travel through the night this time, day quickly waning away like shore line on the ocean. Soon the moon was up, full, guiding, the North Star with it. My tail twitched, seeming happy to be able to move around again.

Dune after dune I climbed over, even far into the night I didn't stop, I was too anxious to see him. So anxious I didn't think of a cover story for my eyes or tail. I just kept going, like a robot with energizer batteries.

But finally, as the moon herself started to descend again, I hiked up one last dune and got stuck at the top, marveling at what was at the bottom. There was the BSAA refugee camp, and it was huge! Lights were on, a hundred generators going powering a thousand tents that were here and there on the tall fenced off camp grounds. Men and women in uniforms patrolled the grounds even at this hour, huge guns in their arms. An automated machine gun, or actually two, were set up at the front gates. The fence was wired, electric currents going through it, and a machine that I recognized as an infected sensor was set up there too, at the front gates.

I sat down on the dune, putting my tail up again, sand getting in my pants as I put my hands to my head, distressed. How was I supposed to get past all of that security to see Dad? I'd be gunned down within a second of stepping in. This wasn't like all of those run down towns with bars in churches, this was a BSAA run camp, and the BSAA were totally anti-infected. Bigots. But I couldn't blame them, the rest of my kind were pretty much jerk asses.

But I couldn't sit here and wallow in hopelessness; I had to get a plan, think of something! I had to see them again, see Lily and Dad! This is why I'd come all this way, to see them again! I wasn't giving up now, not after all I'd gone through!

I racked my brain for an idea, analyzed the camp ground for hours, but couldn't see any chink in the BSAA's figural armor. I feel like shouting, blowing off some steam by killing an Ender, but I knew better than that. I roll my shoulders in frustration, begging for anything to come and give me inspiration.

The ground began to quake abruptly then, and all of a sudden I wonder if the world was actually listening to my thoughts. The sand trembled underneath me, and I knew I had to move, or else I'd get stuck in quick sand. I jump, rolling as I hit the side of the dune, and end up at the bottom, on the ground again. I shake off the sand quickly and then look up, to see a giant shadow looming over me. My eyes widen, breath quicken, heart stopping, and frozen solid, as I see a humongous Death Eater; worm Ender, above me.

This worm Ender, whose mouth was wide open, ready to eat me, was ten times the size of an elephant. It could have swallowed an elephant whole, matter-of-fact, and it was bearing down on me at an incredible rate. I rolled, as hard as it was, away from the worm's descending mouth. It faded into the sand, disappearing. I took in as much air as I could, getting up quickly, running away as fast as I could. But I could feel it, sense the viral infection in its blood, as it slithered beneath the sand, following me.

"DAMN IT!" I shout, it echoes, me suddenly noticing that I was in a cavern, high walls of rock all around us, except for where I had come from, where there was a wall of sand dunes. So, essentially, there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. This made me even more frustrated, and I started running backwards so I could frantically shoot at the moving sand behind me.

"WHY!" Shoot. "DO I!" Shoot. "HAVE!" Shoot. "SUCH BAD!" Shoot. "FUCKING LUCK!" Click. Click. Click. Click. "DAMN IT ALL TO FUCKING HELL!" My gun had jammed, at such a time; it had jammed on me, leaving me to fight a Death Eater Ender with only my knife. An Ender, may I remind you, that was a thousand times my own size. Infected with super powers or not that was just impossible.

So I holstered the gun and just started running, running to the closest place my brain registered as safety. I ran, without thinking, to the gates of the BSAA camp. I started yelling too, at the top of my lungs, as I raced against the Ender to the camp. But my luck picked up a bit that day, as the people manning the huge machine guns at the gates pointed them at the worm. It screamed and screeched, high pitched enough to almost make my ears bleed, as the guns filled it full of lead. Then, out of nowhere, a slightly chubby old guy with red graying hair came out to me, magnum shooting at the worm, as he ushered me inside the gates.

And you know what? The viral infection sensors weren't even turned on! Seriously, what are the odds?

"You okay?" The old guy asked as the both of us, now behind the gates, took in gulps of breath, tired from running away from that stupid worm. His eyes looked concerned; trying to make sure I hadn't been hurt.

I nodded, still breathing deep as I held up a thumb. "It didn't get me, thanks to you guys. Thank you, seriously." I looked at him, seriously thankful that that worm hadn't gotten to eat me. I brushed myself off as I straightened up, my lungs not burning so bad anymore.

"I'm glad and you're welcome, it's what we do kid." The man states proudly, seeming to be happy I was okay. His breathing is still heavy and he's having a hard time straitening up, so I guessed he was pretty old, yet still in the game. Pretty impressive. He puts his hand out then, a friendly greeting on his tongue. "I'm Barry, glad to see you're still breathing kid."

I shake his hand, nodding and smiling at him. "Angel, and that's only because of you, _Barry_." I reply, looking around as I shake his hand. The camp is just as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside, but now I can see all of the scary uniformed soldiers up close. I can only hope I survive long enough to see my dad, before these guys catch wind of what I am. It's a terrifying feeling, being in the camp of those that want to rip you to pieces.

"Well Angel, you come here for safety or family. 'Cause obliviously you were contemplating something while sitting up on that dune for so long." Barry says, a huge smile on his face, voice so nice and caring yet strong and protective. My gut told me that at some point he was a dad too. I give him a flabbergasted look, thinking that no one had seen me up there. He chuckles deeply, his laugh full of mirth. "I've had two girls myself, then three grandkids, I can read you like book kid."

I feel a little insulted but this man reminds me too much of my dad for me to get upset, so I nod, shrugging, letting my expressions admit I could get nothing past him. I grin and rub the back of my neck embarrassedly. "Yeah, you got me; I was told my dad was here." I explain.

"Right." Barry nods, thumb stroking his peppered beard. "What's his name?" He asks, looking me square in the eyes, _well_, through my sunglasses anyway.

"Dean, Dean Allen." I tell him and the man's eyes instantly light up, a smile full of that same mirth on his face.

"You're Dean's girl! That's incredible! He never stops talking about you, you know! He's been worried sick about you and you're sister!" Barry states, half happily, half frustrated, the type of frustration a father would get when one of their children stays out late without calling. But he lets it go and just grins, waving me to follow him. "Come on! I know exactly where Dean is, he'd hate me for talking his daughter's ear off before he even knew she was here, frankly he'd right out kill me." He laughs at the statement, continuing to ramble, as I just raise a brow at him.

To tell the truth I'm only half taking in anything Barry ever says, I can only think of seeing my dad again, my heart dancing, singing, in excitement. We walk for a while and he leads me to a tent near the back of the third row of other tents. I stop at the entrance of one and he tells me to go in, which I do, slowly opening the flap on the tent. My heart beat races, adrenaline pumping in my system, and I feel like jumping out of my skin I'm so ecstatic to see him again.

There, at the back, is a tall black haired man, folding clothes silently. He's turned away from me though, sitting on a wooden chair as he folds and puts pants in a dresser. He sighs and calls over his shoulder; "What do you want Barry? I thought Claire put you on watch for the day?" He says exasperated, but with a bit of playfulness in his tone. I know that voice, oh so well, and my heart swells, I feel tears of joy prick at my eyes.

I clench my hands together, resisting the urge to run up and hug his neck like I always used to do. "It's not Barry." I say lightly, trying to make sure my voice doesn't crack. Dad's shoulders tense, he's frozen as my voice registers in his ears, and slowly, as if time was slowing down right then and there, Dad turns his head.

As soon as he sees me, the chair is pushed over, creating a loud noise as Dad's on his feet and running over to me. The next thing I know I'm in his arms, all out crying like a little girl, as he hugs me so tight. His face is in my neck, and for the second time in my life I feel his tears roll down my skin. He only hugs tighter as the seconds pass, the both of us sobbing into each other, back together after so long. I was finally home, where I belonged, in my father's arms. I felt so happy, I just couldn't stop crying.

"I'm," My dad swallows thickly, still in mid-sob. "So h-happy t-to see you a-a-alive!" He tries to talk as he's crying, and I cry harder as he says this, my nightmare not coming true. I felt like my heart was about to burst with happiness and pure joy.

I had been in a coma for two years, and then traveled through the cruelest wasteland world for two more, nearly getting killed by Elite, humans, and Enders. I got stopped at every town, so much hate and despair there, hunted like an animal by my own kind. I got trapped, nearly killed, around every corner as I tried to survive through the desert. I got my chest caved in by a blonde girl, got nicknamed Angel by humanity, Devil by the Elite, and captured by an insane scientist and tortured by him too. He gave me a tail and I find out the woman who made my dad cry so long ago was responsible for it all and that my entire life was a lie.

I went through every second of that to be where I was right now, and it almost seemed as if the sky was blue again.

**-X-**

We didn't part for a long time, the world seeming so perfect as we were there, molded together. But when we do my dad keeps his hands on my shoulders, reluctant to let me out of his grasp, worried I'd vanish into thin air like an illusion, it was vice versa with that one.

"I'm so happy to see you! Where have you been?" He asks, concerned, his blue eyes stormy like I remember them being. I open my mouth to answer but he covers my lips with his finger before I can. "No, better yet, I don't want to know. All that matters is that you're here now." He hugs me again, eyes bright, smile glued to his face, but the hug is quick and then he grabs my wrist, tugging me somewhere. "But we better get you an ID card, if Claire finds out an unknown was in the camp for this long, she'd have a fit." He says, trying to tug me out of the tent.

But my heart stops and my dad can't budge me. I look away, ashamed, as he looks at me, confused and concerned. "I can't." I state quietly, shyly, scared that as soon as my dad knows that the gentle touches will turn into disgusted pushes.

"Why?" He asks in a whisper, no more than an inch away from me, his hands rubbing up and down my arms soothingly. He touches my chin, trying to get me to look at him, but I refuse, my eyes blood shot, becoming watery again. "You can tell me, I promise."

I look at him then, sniffling, and cross my arms. "Don't freak out, okay?" He nods, but I'm still scared, as my hand goes to my sunglasses. I am beyond reluctant, and I only touch the rim of the sunglasses for a while, not wanting to pull them off. Suddenly, another hand is pulling them away, and I give my dad a surprised look as he pulls my sunglasses off himself. My heart freezes as I watch his reaction, at first he is surprised, but not scared, and soon he's putting the sunglasses in his pocket and smiling at me, his hand rubbing my cheek soothingly as a scared look is still on my face.

"It's okay." He says so gently, his thumb rubbing circles on my face. "You're still my daughter, no matter what color your eyes are." My dad explains, his eyes sky blue and so bright now, no fear or shock on his face anymore, just acceptance.

Tears return to my eyes, and without rational thought, I fling myself at my father and bury my face in his chest, sobbing and crying again. While I cry my father pats my back and rubs down my spine, gently telling me everything was going to be okay.

The world was officially perfect again.

**-X-**

I found myself sitting in an overly large tent, with a waiting room, which is where I was. My dad had taken my sunglasses and refused to give them back, the looks the soldiers had given me were terrifying, and I ended up hiding inside my dad's grasp, trembling in fear. I felt so vulnerable without my sunglasses, like I was two again and surrounded by bullies that could see how weak and frail I was, easy to pick on. But the whole time my dad had shielded me, sure that he could talk the supervisor of this camp into letting me stay. I just hadn't dropped the bomb about me leaving soon.

As much as I loved being with my dad I still had a mission, I couldn't stay forever, maybe just a few nights, if any at all. Dad had just barely let me drop my stuff before dragging me to the tent they called HQ. I felt more comfortable being able to roll my shoulders without back pack straps on them. I figured I'd tell my dad about the tail later.

I could hear yelling now, most likely about me, and I got worried about my dad, especially when I heard something get thrown across the room and get shattered. Before thinking I acted, standing and running into the office area of the tent, which was only sectioned off by a tarp. I ran in and saw five different people circled around a table, a broken vase with roses shattered at my dad's feet. I felt angry someone would throw something like that at him, so I narrowed my eyes, and like a mirror, everyone in the room glaring at me did the same.

"So this is her?" A woman with deep red hair and blue eyes asked, pointing an accusing finger at me. She looked furious and I guessed she was Claire and that she had one Hell of a grudge against infected.

"Yeah," I cockily put my hands on my hips, sneering at her. "I'm _'her'_, name's Angel by the way, Red Head." I notice both the flash of confusion on my dad's face and the look of growing concern. I dismiss it, people I could handle, waiting I couldn't. "If you don't want me here you could just have the balls to tell me!" I shout, crossing my arms as the air gets tense.

Suddenly the blond man beside Claire points at me too, a look of remembrance on his face. "I remember you." He states, and I raise a brow at him, he did look familiar. "Helena and I helped you and your sister back in DC four years ago." The blond explains, and a quick second long flash back of memory helps me remember his name and what he's talking about.

"Leon Scott Kennedy? The only guy in the world that introduces himself with his full name?" I ask, smiling at the memory, yet felt sad about it. That day had been the darkest day of human history, yet a blond dude showed up out of nowhere with his hot sidekick and saved the day. Well, he kinda saved the day.

"Yeah," He nods, grinning, hair swaying. "Damn, I thought you were dead." He admits, and really I had been, I think I was dead for those two years that I have absolutely no account of. If I was right the virus had been what breathed life back into my body. It was an Earth shattering thought, to be saved by the thing that destroyed so much.

"Yeah, me too." I nod and the room goes silent, a pregnant pause, as I feel ashamed to be what I am. The venom of the Earth, hiding in the shadows trying to cure everyone's snake bites with my own poison.

"Look," Claire begins to talk, breaking the silence, her teeth grinding. "We don't accept infected here, so you need to go back where ever you came from and stay there." She says cruelly, crossing her arms, her word law, the law made. I understood such thinking but that didn't mean I didn't feel stung when she said it.

I glare at her. "What did the infected ever do to you lady, shesh." I grimace, folding my arms as I pout. I was acting childish, but maybe that was because I was surrounded by people that were actually twice my age for once.

Claire fumes, furious. The look on her face, fire in her icy eyes, scares everyone in the room. But I stare down creatures with blood colored eyes for a living, her fury was nothing, she was constrained by morals, while the things I had fought were not. "They took my brother!" She shouts, clearly her wounds of lose still raw and hurting. I felt her pain, so exact and the same, and I didn't look away, but I calmed myself, with pure understanding and sympathy.

I look sympathetically at her, my eyes looking far deeper into her's now. "Yeah well, they took me away from my entire family." I counter, our gazes locked in a stare down. "Tell me about your brother and I'll leave." The request shocks everyone, even Claire looks taken aback, but thinks it over. Reluctantly she nods, agreeing. "Got a picture?" I ask innocently, and I have no idea why I'm doing this but I do it anyway. It just so happens that, like me, Claire keeps a picture of her brother close to her, folded in her pocket. She pulls it out and shows it to me. "So, what was Chris like?"

**-X-**

Claire had lightened up while talking about her brother, and we ended up finishing our conversation over hot chocolate and cookies, in her tent. It was hours before she was finished and when she was I told her about my journey, my goal, and her sight of me changed, her gaze holding admiration now instead of disgust. When we were done she said I could stay for the night but I had to be gone by morning, I nodded to Claire as I left her tent. I actually ended up keeping her picture of Chris, tucking it away in my pocket. After hearing about how he had rivaled against Wesker for so long I thought his memory might give me some strength.

My dad was looking through my journal by the time I had gotten back. The tent was dark, night time falling again, the stars out and shining, and my dad was hunched over my journal, a small lantern like light hanging from the top of the inside of the tent, giving him light to read. His expression was so intense as he read, and from how thick the right side of the journal was I guessed he was almost done. I had a very strong urge to run up and rip the journal from his hands, not let him see what I've become, but it was too late now.

I just stood there, silent, frozen, as Dad closed the journal and stood. For a while he just stood there, next to the bed he had been sitting on, not saying anything, just staring at the ground. Then his stormy eyes were back, gazing deeply at me, and soon he was hugging me tightly again, a mantra of sorry spurting out of his sobbing throat. He held my head in his hands, pushing my face into his shoulder as he expected me to cry, but I didn't, I just felt a cold throbbing sensation inside of me.

"I can't believe….you've been through so much, I'm so sorry. I thought you had just changed your name, but you actually don't remember what your name really is. I-" My dad is emotional, trying to apologize for something that isn't his fault. Just like Mom he thinks I'm still me, not a monster created from a virus, which just happens to have the memories and body of who I used to be. So I cut him off and push him away.

"Don't." I say sternly, shaking my head. I try to sound as serious as possible without sounding upset, because I wasn't, none of this was his fault, and I didn't blame him for it. "Don't say my name." I tell him, face set in a blank expression. "I'm not her anymore." I look down, away, ashamed to not be the girl who used to star gaze with her dad and make breakfast for her little sister. "But you don't have to be sorry," I explain sincerely, holding his hands tightly as he listened intently. "None of this is your fault, and I'm still alive." I smile then and a ghost of a smile shows up on my dad's face. "So it's all good." I shrug.

My dad shakes his head, eyes still stormy. "No, it's not." He takes in a deep breath and sighs. "But I guess it can be for a while." That's when I really smile and start dragging my dad out of the tent this time. He lets me but with confusion on his face. I turn him to look at the stars, and I do the same as I hold his hand tightly. "The North Star." He says, his old eyes, greying beard, yet still dark hair, looking up at the sky, sight trained on the brightest star in the sky.

"Yeah," I nod and then I begin to tell my dad everything like I had Claire. Sure he had read snippets of it out of my journal, but I was a much better story teller through words not writings. I told him of my long journey, of everything I had gone through, myself. But unlike the journal I told him the good bits too; Darwin, Desmond, Outsider, and Kitten Lena.

The people I had meant in my travels, the incredible people with huge hearts, and courage to stand up against what they believed to be a God. I even told him about my mission against Wesker, and through our entire one sided conversation the two of us watched the stars, holding tightly onto each other in this ravenous ocean of a world, so that we wouldn't accidentally drift apart. We had been separated for far too long.

"So," I take a deep breath, catching the sight of a shooting star in the deep dark twinkling night. "That's about it." I admit and my dad kinda grins at that, thinking silently, _'that all?' _sarcastically. It was a lot to take in, especially for him. "But hey," I turn to him, not letting go of his hand. "Where's Lily?"

I don't miss the sudden look of sorrow and depression in Dad's eyes as I mention Lily. He looks away, about ready to cry again, shattering at the mention of my little sister, and I feel like crumbling, just thinking that she might be dead. Dad takes a couple of deep breaths before he can look back at me, he's trying to be strong for me again, a fake smile on his face as his grip tightens on my hand again, and he just looks at me for a moment.

"Lily is-"

_**BANG!**_

_And suddenly I was drifting in the dark depths of the ocean again._

My eyes widen dramatically, blood all over my face, heart hammering faster than ever before, I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack as I breathe in very quick shallow breaths. Tears, streaming tears, instantly are dripping down my chin, seconds after the gun shot has gone off. All I can think to do is scream.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDD! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O!" There is a hole in his head, right between where stormy eyes used to be, and his body crumbles to the ground and I go with it, hysterical. "NOOOOOO! NO! NO!NO!NO!NO!" I shake my head frantically, tears going everywhere, as I grip my dad's hand tightly, the grip he had returned gone, dead, and cold. His eyes are still open, still looking at me, but all the color is gone. I grip his hand harder than I should and I think had he still been alive he would have complained about a broken palm. "PLEASE! NO!" My head is on his chest, other hand shaking his shattered body. My knees hurt from the rocks tearing into the skin on my shins, but I don't even feel it, my head on my dad's chest, trying to hear a heartbeat.

"WHY! WHY! DAMN IT! I JUST GOT YOU BACK! DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING DIE ON ME!" I'm yelling, screaming, shouting, from where my head is buried and I don't stop. The tears never stop, the hurt never stops, the ache never stops, and the sky is grey again. The world back in Post-Paradise. I only get a moment of crying, of mourning my dad before a gun is touching my temple, the same gun that killed my father, and I look up.

A young guy, late twenties _maybe_, is grinning down at me, his whole aura feeling wicked and disgusting like black ooze. His teeth show through the grin, like that of a hungry predator. He's wearing sunglasses and I can smell virus on him like he just went dumpster diving. A pristine white suit adorns his body, dirty blond hair neatly cut at the top of his head. He's tall, good strong muscle on him, black leather shoes with matching gloves. He reminds me too much of Lockheart.

I jump back quickly, using my new speed, but reluctant to leave my dad's side, I try and get the gun from his hands but he's just as fast, if not faster, and turns the tides, grabbing my wrist and throwing me over his shoulder. I land, back down, on the ground, but through pure adrenaline and painful painful emotions I'm up in the time someone could bat an eyelash. I try attacking him again, but his movements are precise, measured, well trained, he has me in a head lock I can't get out of in a matter of thirty seconds. He has the upper hand, precise thought out and reflexive movements always winning over just plain all-out rage. I fumed in his grasp, struggling as hard as I could, but he wouldn't budge, he was like stone.

"Why?" I whispered behind gritted teeth, pure rage so blinding coming from me, tears still running down my cheeks. The man does something surprising though. He adjusts the head lock to where it seems like he's hugging me, his lips just barely touching my ear as he pets my head gently and shushs me. Just like what Lockheart did back at the lab, the movements work to calm me down; even though it is against my will I feel the virus in me purring, like a cat getting petted by its master. I try to fight the effects but I am no match against the thing keeping me alive.

"Because he was the last thing in your way, making you weak, _human_." He explains in such a soft voice it lulls me, my head falling back on his shoulder, another movement I myself did not make. I was beginning to freak out, I had no control, it seemed like this guy knew exactly what to do to pull my strings.

"Bastard!" I yell whispered, my heart beat evening out, breaths slow, eye lids getting heavy. I want to yell in his face, scream at him to stop, but I can't, my body feels drained all of a sudden. "Who," I try and blink the weariness out of my eyes. "Who are you?" I'm looking at his sunglasses now, and I can just barely make out the red and gold cat eyes behind them.

"My alias is Alex Smith." He grinned seeing the look on my face of realization. This was the man that shot me four years ago, the man who turned me into a monster and experimented on me for two years while I was in a coma. This was the very man my mom had been talking about. "But you can call me Alex Wesker." The superior smile stays on his face as my breaths quicken again.

This man wasn't an Elite, he wasn't a Freak, or an Ender. He wasn't even a Chosen; he was a fucking Wesker Child! I was so screwed!

"Time to sleep now, Angel." Alex says calmly, gently, into my ear and my eyelids get to heavy to keep open. I find myself encompassed by darkness, but even in that darkness I find no peace. I have nightmares of my dad dying right in front of me every second while I slept.

Not only that I knew when I woke up I'd have to deal with a Wesker Child.

'_Shit.'_

**-X-**

**End Note: **_God, that chapter took me forever to write! I had a difficult time with this one, and actually, I have no idea what's happening next chapter. I have everything else planned out but that, pretty bad uh? Sorry there wasn't much of Leon, Claire, or Barry, but they'll be coming back, probably next chapter. Barry was added in just for Toasty2006 by the way! I don't think I would have thought of putting him had he not said something. XD But I think I wrote Barry a little OOC, I don't know, it's been a billion years since I played RE 1._

_I think there will be more Claire, Leon, Rebecca, Billy, Helena, Jake, and Sherry later, if I can come up with the next chapter that is. But hey, another cliff hanger! Aren't I great? ^_^ *Sarcasm*_

_But about the contest PM me if you're entering or say so in your review, I'd like to have a list, and please consider signing up. You don't have to, I know everyone's busy with their own stuff, but it'd make me awful happy! _

_I'd also like to say that I was really surprised no one got the AC reverence a few chapters back. Desmond, the bartender? I also referenced "Stranger in a Strange Land" if any of you guys have read that story you'd know Outsider was the main character in that._

_So, can anyone guess what Angel's real name is? If her sister is Lily, what would her name be? I plan on revealing it at the end of the story, and I think the end might shock you guys. We're coming around the final corners here, one last chapter before Wesker (Albert) comes into the story. Then he gets three chapters or so and then it's epilogue time!_

_Toodles for now guys!_

_**R&R PLEASE!**_


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